Changing our destinies
by xXxNight AngelxXx
Summary: Harry thought that nothing could shock him anymore, but when two wizards come from the future saying they want to change it, bringing back people from the past, along with Harry and company in order to change their destiny...well, let's just say that he was wrong, very wrong.
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone! I'm back, I'm sorry to everyone that was following my other story for not updating sooner, but life hasn't been easy and I hit a really bad writer's block. I was reading through my story the other day and finally decided to do this, so this has turned into a "reading the books" sort of story but with my own twist. Leon and the twins are here and the books will be changed, nothing drastic but they will change more and more.

I decided to post this prologue today in honor of Harry's and JKR's birthday, and hopefully I'll have the first chapter ready by tomorrow

WARNING: English is not my mother tongue, and though I did a triple check before posting, feel free to tell me if you find any mistakes!

PAIRINGS WARNING: so far the only pairings I have decided are: Lily/James, George/OC, Fred/OC, and Ron/Hermione, (and OC/OC but that one is minor) most pairings will be only background pairing but if you have a pairing you want on the story (cannon or fannon, either is fine) let me know and I'll do a poll (het or slash) and then I'll choose, this story might have slash but once again, I don't know, so far there is nothing, but if that changes I promise to warn you guys

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, only my OCs

**Everything written like this belongs to the great JK Rowling **

_**Everything written like this are the things I added to the story**_

And everything written like this is the actual story

* * *

Time, unlike what many people thought, was in constant state of changing, nothing was written in stone, and the actions of an individual could change their destiny along with the fate of the whole world and sometimes changing what was written is the best course of action. This is a fact that a young wizard kept repeating in his head as he prepared for his journey.

* * *

London, December, 12th, 1978

It had been a long day for everyone, Voldemort kept growing stronger day by day and the war kept claiming lives day by day, so it was that four friends decided to keep themselves some company and eat together, those friends were Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, James Potter, and Lily Evans.

"Sirius Black and James Potter, it's been such a long time!" A man with brown hair smiled from his place at the table the moment the friends crossed the threshold "and who might this lovely lady be?"

"Lily Evans, pleasure to meet you" the redhead smiles, shaking his hand.

"I'm Romulus Lupin, at your service my lady"

"Romulus! Great to see you! What are you doing here?" Sirius Black grinned at the man before him, sitting beside his friend James Potter while Remus Lupin was hugged by his brother.

"I wanted to congratulate you all on graduating! And to thank you Sirius" Romulus' smile turned softer "Carol and I are happy to have a chance at raising a child, and it's all thanks to you"

"Thanks for letting me see them every once in a while, they deserve a happy home, something I'm not able to give them" Sirius grinned, sitting next to Remus

"it's the least we could do, Carol was ecstatic" Romulus smiled back "I don't know if you were told, but we're keeping the names you gave them"

"really? You know you don't have to right? I mean, thanks and all but…"

"oh it's fine, believe me, besides, Carol likes them, she says they're original"

"If you're staying you could stay for dinner, we were going to order something" Remus suggested

"no, that's fine, I have to get back home soon anyway, but thanks for inviting me" Romulus smiled to his brother, but before he could reach the door a bright light appeared right in the middle of the room "ehm, is this some of your magic trick guys? Because it's pretty neat"

"Rommy, we're not doing anything" Remus tried to explain but before he got a chance everything went black.

* * *

Hogwarts, August 20th, 1995

"I don't think I'll ever grow tired of this" Harry announced as he relaxed, laying down under the shade of a tree, he had just arrived to Leon's house, where he would stay a couple of days before they left for the Quidditch World Cup in a couple of days.

"I know, it's very nice out here" Leon sighed, sitting next to his friend, watching as his sisters splashed in the water along with the Weasley twins and Ron.

"It is, but I meant your home, its amazing" Harry smirked at Leon once he saw him blush, laughing a little when Leon kicked him

"Hey you two! Let's go inside, it's getting cold, and we're hungry" Zania said, getting her towel.

"We were just waiting for you to finish" Leon smiled "I'm sure Remus and Mrs. Weasley prepared something"

They stood up and joined the other five as they made their way home, where their parents, siblings and Hermione were waiting, on the way back they joked and laughed all along. Once they arrived they were surprised to find the house empty.

"Where's everyone?" Harry questioned, looking at the empty living room

"Not in the kitchen!" Zania yelled

"Or upstairs!" Leon and Adhara called back. They came back down and everyone sat on the living room.

"Where could they have gone?" Fred scratched the back of his head. Suddenly, in the middle of the room, they saw a bright light floating, just above the table

"What's that? Did you guys do something?" Ron glared at his brothers

"No, this is not one of ours I'm afraid little brother" the twins said in unison

Before anyone could say anything else the bright light expanded and then everything turned black.

* * *

The next time Harry opened his eyes he was in a big room, beside him there was Leon, fast asleep. He stood up and saw Ron and Hermione in the same state; he turned around and saw the entire Weasley clan unconscious, along with Lupin and Sirius. He looked up once he hears a groan from the other side of the room.

"Jesus all mighty, Remus! This is the last time I come visit" a man that seemed to be in his late 20s or early 30s complained, before kicking a lump that groaned and moved at the contact.

"Hey! Don't blame us, or Moony, it wasn't us, we didn't even had a wand" said a very familiar voice, the man stood up and Harry gasped once he recognized him

"Sirius?" He breathed; the three men looked at him quickly.

"Who are you? How do you know who I am?" Sirius asked, Harry tried to explain but couldn't find the words before he saw everyone start to wake up. Soon everyone was on their feet with their wands ready, the confusion and panic in the room were visible.

"What's going on? Are you Death Eaters?" asked James, pointing his wand at Harry

"no, they are not" said a voice from behind them, everyone turned to look, Harry could barely see two figures, both dressed in muggle clothes, one of them had a red hoodie that covered his head and ripped jeans, Harry couldn't see his hair and it was hard to see his face but he could see he had grey eyes, beside him there was a taller boy, with shocking blue hair and brown eyes. The blue-haired boy spoke again "they aren't death eaters, and if you let us, we will explain what is going on, and why we brought you here"

"so it was you who brought us here" Charlie said, glaring at the two strangers

"yep, but we have a very good reason" the boy with the hoodie said "you see, we come from the future, and my friend here and I, decided to come to the past, gather you lot (since you play quite an important role in the future) and fix everything that needs to be fixed"

"and why should we believe you?" asked Sirius

"you don't have to believe us, in fact, all things considered, we don't really expect it" the blue haired teenager said looking sad "but we are telling the truth"

"but, even if it's true, why would you risk coming to the past? Or bringing all of us together? I mean, it's illegal! And changing the course of time could bring terrible consequences!" Hermione exclaimed

"we know the consequences, but the fact is…" the blue-haired boy hesitated "there were many losses from the war against Voldemort and though we live in a time of peace, we can still see the shadows left by the war"

"we were sent back in order to change the outcome of the war, to save lives" said the boy in the hoodie

"and how are you planning on doing that?" said Mr. Weasley, speaking up for the first time

"we'll explain later, for now we would like to introduce ourselves, and then you can introduce each other, it'll be easier to talk that way" explained the hoodied boy nodding at his friend

"right, my name is Ted, or Teddy if you want, I'm 19 years old and I'm training to be an Auror" the blue-haired boy-Teddy- smiled at everyone and gave a little wave

"and I'm Remmy, I just turned 19 and I'm a Healer" he waved as well and smiled widely at everyone "now it's your turn, unless you have any questions?"

"I have one! What house were you in?" Sirius asked, while Remus and James facepalmed

"well, I was a Griffyndor while Teddy here was a Ravenclaw" Remmy smiled "anything else? No? alright then, how about you introduce yourselves? We can start with the Weasleys!"

"very well, I'm Arthur Weasley, and my wife Molly" Mr. Weasley said after a small pause, still sounding hesitative smiling at Mrs. Weasley "I work for the ministry, at the misuse of muggle artifacts department"

"I'm Bill, oldest son, ex-Griffyndor and currently working as a curse breaker for Gringotts"

"Charlie here, also a Gryffindor and I work as a dragon tamer in Romania" Charlie grinned as both James and Sirius exclaimed how awesome it was

"I'm Percy, I was a Gryffindor, I graduated last year and now I work at the ministry in the…"

"yeah, yeah, we don't have—" Fred interrupted

"—all day, I'm Forge, and this is Gred" George continued

"we're both Gryffindors, we're on our 6th year"

"and we're the best beaters Gryffindor has ever seen" they finished, causing many people to snort

"and I'm Ron, the youngest boy, I'm on Gryffindor and I'm on my 4th year"

"Ginny, youngest child and only girl, Gryffindor, and I'm going to 3rd year" Ginny blushed a little and looked at Hermione, who was standing at her side

"well, my name is Hermione, I'm also a Gryffindor, and I'm on the same year as Ron" Hermione said then looked at her side, seeing only professor Lupin

"I'll go next shall I? though most of you know me, I'm Remus Lupin, I was a Gryffindor and I am a teacher" Lupin smiled at his younger friends

"wooow, Moony, you're a professor!" James said

"wow Moony, you're old mate" a younger Sirius laughed

"shut up Pads" the younger Remus said, blushing

"well, I'm Adhara Black, and this is my sister Zania" Adhara said after a nod from Lupin, ignoring the faces from the people from the past

"we're Gryffindors and the best chasers ever" Zania finished, before nodding towards Leon

"oh, me? Ehmm, I'm Leon, Leon Lupin, and I'm a Gryffindor, I'm on my 4th year" Leon said, before anyone could say anything Leon signaled to Harry

"and I'm Harry Potter, also a 4th year and also a Gryffindor" Harry said

"Potter? Are we related?" James asked curiously, Harry nodded

"you're my dad" he answered

"wow…I have a son? Really? And I imagine, or well, I hope, that Lily is your mom?" when Harry nodded James grinned and jumped "oh yeaaaah! You hear that Pads? Lily is going to say yes!"

"that's brilliant mate!" Sirius grinned

"not that this isn't great, but can we get on with the introductions so we can explain everything?" Teddy said

"oh, yes of course, well, I'm James Potter, Gryffindor, and currently in the process of becoming an Auror"

"Sirius 'Awesome' Black, Gryffindor and like Jamie-boy here, an Auror in training"

"Lily Evans, also a Gryffindor and currently training to be a healer" Lily smiled

"Remus Lupin, and well, my…older self already said everything else really" Remus shrugged

"and I'm Romulus, Remus elder brother, and I'm a…what do you guys call us? Muggles?"

"yes, you're a muggle" Remus said

"great, so now that everyone introduced themselves this is what's going to happen, we came from the future to change it, and after many months of deliberating, it was decided that the best way to do that was" Remmy took out a book from his bag "was reading about it"

"I'm really sorry Harry, but these are from your point of view, these books will tell your story, starting from your third year and ending at the end of your seventh" Teddy said, sending an apologetic grimace at Harry

"once you are done, we will give you some time to think about these books and what you can do to change the outcome, everything else is up to you" Remmy shrugged

"but…isn't it a little…dangerous? I mean, if we interfere, your future could be worse! Or we could end up the same way" Lily tried to reason

"with all due respect, but many lives were lost because of this war, if we can manage to save even just one…then this will all be worth the danger" Remmy said, looking serious for the first time since he appeared in the room.

"it's all up to you, if you wish to leave we can bring you back to the place where we took you from, we'll erase your memories and you will live blissfully unaware" Teddy told her kindly "if anyone wishes to leave…speak now, or it'll be too late afterwards"

No one said anything, to both boys relief, so they nodded and waved their wands; soon, the room changed, different door appeared and in the center different kinds of chairs and couches appeared, forming a circle.

"perfect, then please take a seat and I'll begin reading" Teddy said, it took a couple of seconds for everyone to be seated, Teddy and Remmy had chosen a two-seater for themselves, to Teddy's left there were Romulus, Moony, and Padfoot on a sofa, then James and Lily on another loveseat, followed by Lupin who sat on one of the chairs. The Black twins sat on a loveseat with Fred and George who chose to sit on the floor in front of them , then there was Ron, Hermione, and Harry on the other sofa, on Harry's side there was Leon and then Ginny, Bill sat on a chair beside Ginny and Percy, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sat on the couch at Remmy's right side, Charlie, who had been trying to sit on the chair that Bill had taken, finally gave up and sat between Leon and Ginny. Once everyone had sat down Teddy cleared his throat "alright, now that everyone is seating, I'll start"

**Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban**

**OWL POST**


	2. Chapter 2 Owl Post

WARNING: English is not my mother tongue, and though I did a triple check before posting, feel free to tell me if you find any mistakes!

PAIRINGS WARNING: so far the only pairings I have decided are: Lily/James, George/OC, Fred/OC, and Ron/Hermione, (and OC/OC but that one is minor) most pairings will be only background pairing but if you have a pairing you want on the story (cannon or fannon, either is fine) let me know and I'll do a poll (het or slash) and then I'll choose, this story might have slash but once again, I don't know, so far there is nothing, but if that changes I promise to warn you guys

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, only my OCs

**Everything written like this belongs to the great JK Rowling**

_**Everything written like this are the things I added to the story**_

And everything written like this is the actual story

(Author's note at the end)

* * *

**Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban**

**OWL POST**

**Harry Potter was a highly unusual boy in many ways. **

"no kidding" Leon joked, Harry, being as mature as he was, stuck out his tongue

**For one thing, he hated the summer holidays more than any other time of another, he really wanted to do his homework **

"oh god, you see Prongsy? The Evans genes have obviously corrupted him" Sirius cried mockingly

"there's nothing wrong with wanting to do your homework!" Lily and Hermione said, smiling at each other

"not when you're on holidays!" James lamented "oh my poor son"

"ehem, may I continue?" Teddy asked, smiling when everyone apologized

**but was forced to do it in secret, in the dead of night. **

"why? I mean, I'm sure Lily would be delighted…" Sirius started

"Sirius" Moony interrupted

"yes Moony dear?"

"shut up"

**And he also happened to be a wizard.**

"nooo, really?" Fred asked sarcastically

"are you a wizard Harry? How come you never told us?" George continued, much to everyone's amusement

**It was nearly midnight, and he was lying on his stomach in bed, the blankets drawn right over his head like a tent, a flashlight in one hand and a large leather-bound book (A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot) propped open against the pillow. Harry moved the tip of his eagle-feather quill down the page, frowning as he looked for something that would help him write his essay, "Witch Burning in the Fourteenth Century Was Completely Pointless discuss."**

**The quill paused at the top of a likely-looking paragraph. Harry Pushed his round glasses up the bridge of his nose, moved his flashlight closer to the book, and read:**

Most everyone groaned

"can't we skip this part?" Zania asked

"no skipping!" Remmy smirked

**Non-magic people (more commonly known as Muggles) were particularly afraid of magic in medieval times, but not very good at recognizing it. On the rare occasion that they did catch a real witch or wizard, burning had no effect whatsoever. The witch or wizard would perform a basic Flame Freezing Charm and then pretend to shriek with pain while enjoying a gentle, tickling sensation. Indeed, Wendelin the Weird enjoyed being burned so much that she allowed herself to be caught no less than fortyseven times in various disguises.**

**Harry put his quill between his teeth and reached underneath his pillow for his ink bottle and a roll of parchment. Slowly and very carefully he unscrewed the ink bottle, dipped his quill into it, and began to write, pausing every now and then to listen, because if any of the Dursleys **

"wait, the Dursleys? Why are you with them?" James asked

"we could be visiting" Lily said, sounding almost hopeful "maybe my sister and I reconciled in the future"

"it explains in the book, now if I may?" Teddy said, seeing Harry's pained expression

**heard the scratching of his quill on their way to the bathroom, he'd probably find himself locked in the cupboard under the stairs for the rest of the summer.**

**The Dursley family of number four, Privet Drive, was the reason that Harry never enjoyed his summer holidays. Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and their son, Dudley, were Harry's only living relatives.**

"wait…could you read that again, please?" Lily asked

**Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and their son, Dudley, were Harry's only living relatives.**

"That…that means we're dead…we…Lily and I…" James said in shock, Lily let a pained cry and hugged James, crying on his shoulder, James stood still, shocked, before hugging her close and crying with her, all around them everyone was quiet, Sirius gave Remus a one-armed hug, bringing him closer once he saw his watering eyes, they both tried to hold in the tears, but once Remus let out a pained whimper and hid in the crook of Sirius' neck Sirius turned and cried into his hair, while Hermione, Ron, and Leon hugged Harry who was crying silently, Lupin looked at the floor, not wanting to see his old friends in such pain, after a few moments everyone James spoke up

"we're going to change things, that's why we're here right?" James looked at Teddy, who nodded encouragingly and continued reading

** They were Muggles, and they had a very medieval attitude toward magic. Harry's dead parents,**

Almost everyone flinched

** who had been a witch and wizard themselves, were never mentioned under the Dursleys' roof **

Everyone except Harry looked angry, but didn't say anything, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley looked a little shocked, but after seeing Harry's expression decided not to ask anything

**For years, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had hoped that if they kept Harry as downtrodden as possible, they would be able to squash the magic out of him. To their fury, they had been unsuccessful. These days they lived in terror of anyone finding out that Harry had spent most of the last two years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The most they could do, however, was to lock away Harry's spellbooks, wand, cauldron, and broomstick at the start of the summer break, and forbid him to talk to the neighbors.**

All the room was silently seething and glaring at the book while Teddy read this chapter, trying hard not to cower and telling himself that they were glaring at the book, not at him.

**This separation from his spellbooks had been a real problem for Harry, because his teachers at Hogwarts had given him a lot of holiday work. One of the essays, a particularly nasty one about shrinking potions, was for Harry's least favorite teacher, Professor Snape, **

"wait…Professor Snape? How did that git become a professor?" Sirius asked, completely shocked

"what was Dumbledore thinking?" James said, echoing Sirius' shock

"would you two stop interrupting?" Mrs. Weasley snapped "we'll never finish otherwise!"

"yes, ma'am" they chorused

**who would be delighted to have an excuse to give Harry detention for a month.**

"of course he would, that slimy…"

"James!" Remus warned, looking at him from his position at Padfoot's side

** Harry had therefore seized his chance in the first week of the holidays. While Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley had gone out into the front garden to admire Uncle Vernon's new company car (in very loud voices, so that the rest of the street would notice it too), Harry had crept downstairs, picked the lock on the cupboard under the stairs, grabbed some of his books, and hidden them in his bedroom. As long as he didn't leave spots of ink on the sheets, the Dursleys need never know that he was studying magic by night.**

"oh Harry! We are so…" The Weasley twins chorused

"…proud of you! there's still hope!" the Black twins finished, most to everyone's amusement (except of course Mrs. Weasley)

**Harry was particularly keen to avoid trouble with his aunt and uncle at the moment, as they were already in an especially bad mood with him, all because he'd received a telephone call from a fellow wizard one week into the school vacation.**

Harry, Leon, and Hermione groaned, while Ron's ears started to get red

**Ron Weasley, who was one of Harry's best friends at Hogwarts, came from a whole family of wizards. This meant that he knew a lot of things Harry didn't, but had never used a telephone before. Most unluckily, it had been Uncle Vernon who had answered the call.**

**"Vernon Dursley speaking."**

**Harry, who happened to be in the room at the time, froze as he heard Ron's voice answer.**

**"HELLO? HELLO? CAN YOU HEAR ME? I - WANT - TO - TALK - TO - HARRY - POTTER!"**

The marauders, Romulus, Lily, and both sets of twins laughed, while Leon, Harry, and Hermione just shook their heads fondly at their friend, all the Weasley family (with the exception of Ron and Mrs. Weasley) either laughed or chuckled at the youngest Weasley male.

**Ron was yelling so loudly that Uncle Vernon jumped and held the receiver a foot away from his ear, staring at it with an expression of mingled fury and alarm.**

**"WHO IS THIS?" he roared in the direction of the mouthpiece. "WHO ARE YOU?"**

**"RON - WEASLEY!" Ron bellowed back, as though he and Uncle Vernon were speaking from opposite ends of a football field. "I'M - A - FRIEND - OF - HARRY'S - FROM - SCHOOL -"**

**Uncle Vernon's small eyes swiveled around to Harry, who was rooted to the spot.**

**"THERE IS NO HARRY POTTER HERE!" he roared, now holding the receiver at arm's length, as though frightened it might explode. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT SCHOOL YOURE TALKING ABOUT! NEVER CONTACT ME AGAIN! DON'T YOU COME NEAR MY FAMILY!"**

**And he threw the receiver back onto the telephone as if dropping a poisonous spider.**

**The fight that had followed had been one of the worst ever.**

**"HOW DARE YOU GIVE THIS NUMBER TO PEOPLE LIKE - PEOPLE LIKE YOU!" Uncle Vernon had roared, spraying Harry with spit.**

There was a chorus of "eww"s around the room

**Ron obviously realized that he'd gotten Harry into trouble, because he hadn't called again. Harry's second best friend from Hogwarts, Hermione Granger, hadn't been in touch either. Harry suspected that Ron had warned Hermione not to call, which was a pity, because Hermione, the cleverest witch in Harry's year, had Muggle parents, knew perfectly well how to use a telephone, and would probably have had enough sense not to say that she went to Hogwarts.**

"actually Harry, I wouldn't have known, since you never really told us not to" Hermione said, looking at him sternly

"sorry, must have slipped my mind" he shrugged

**_Harry tried to remember if Leon Lupin, Harry's third and last best friend, came from a muggle family or, like Ron, a wizarding family, but he couldn't remember anything other than the fact that his two sisters Adhara and Zania Black were also witches and that they all lived with Leon's uncle, but he didn't know much else. He assumed that he also came from a wizarding family, since Ron and him had known each other since before Hogwarts, but Leon had never confirmed it._**

"sorry, I guess I never really told you anything else" Leon smiled sheepishly

"it's okay mate, I know more now" Harry grinned

Remus looked at his brother, both looking anxious.

**So Harry had had no word from any of his wizarding friends for five long weeks, and this summer was turning out to be almost as bad as the last one. There was just one very small improvement - after swearing that he wouldn't use her to send letters to any of his friends, Harry had been allowed to let his owl, Hedwig, out at night. Uncle Vernon had given in because of the racket Hedwig made if she was locked in her cage all the time.**

"I really don't like your uncle" Leon muttered to Harry, who nodded

"He didn't let your owl fly?" Charlie asked, Harry nodded "that's animal abuse!"

**Harry finished writing about Wendelin the Weird and paused to listen again. The silence in the dark house was broken only by the distant, grunting snores of his enormous cousin, Dudley. It must be very late, Harry thought. His eyes were itching with tiredness. Perhaps he'd finish this essay tomorrow night...**

"you should go to sleep darling" Lily and Mrs Weasley said, making Harry blushed and mostly everyone chuckle

**He replaced the top of the ink bottle; pulled an old pillowcase from under his bed; put the flashlight, A History of Magic, his essay, quill, and ink inside it; got out of bed; and hid the lot under a loose floorboard under his bed. Then he stood up, stretched, and checked the time on the luminous alarm clock on his bedside table.**

**It was one o'clock in the morning. Harry's stomach gave a funny jolt. He had been thirteen years old, without realizing it, for a whole hour.**

"it's not really something you notice though" Bill said, amused at his brother's best friend

**Yet another unusual thing about Harry was how little he looked forward to his birthdays. He had never received a birthday card in his life. **

Ron, Hermione, and Leon received glares from the marauders, but before anyone could say anything, Teddy continued

**The Dursleys had completely ignored his last two birthdays, and he had no reason to suppose they would remember this one.**

**Harry walked across the dark room, past Hedwig's large, empty cage, to the open window. He leaned on the sill, the cool night air pleasant on his face after a long time under the blankets. Hedwig had been absent for two nights now. Harry wasn't worried about her: she'd been gone this long before. But he hoped she'd be back soon - she was the only living creature in this house who didn't flinch at the sight of him.**

**Harry, though still rather small and skinny for his age, had grown a few inches over the last year. **

"oh great, sorry about that" James winced "we Potters are late bloomers"

"yeah, he was a midget until he turned 15, then he started growing" Sirius grinned "you remember Moony?"

**His jet-black hair, however, was just as it always had been - stubbornly untidy, whatever he did to it. **

"the Potter hair" The Marauders (plus Lily) sighed, two of them fondly (James and Sirius) and two of them exasperated (Remus and Lily)

**The eyes behind his glasses were bright green,**

"and Lily-flower's eyes" sighed James dreamily

"oh for goodness sake! Let the poor boy read!" Mrs. Weasley sighed nodding at Teddy

** and on his forehead, clearly visible through his hair, was a thin scar, shaped like a bolt of lightning.**

**Of all the unusual things about Harry, this scar was the most extraordinary of all. It was not, as the Dursleys had pretended for ten years, a souvenir of the car crash that had killed Harry's parents, because Lily and James Potter had not died in a car crash.**

" A CAR CRASH!?" Everyone yelled furious at the Dursleys and glaring at the book, Teddy's hair turned red under everyone's stare

** They had been murdered, murdered by the most feared Dark wizard for a hundred years, Lord Voldemort. Harry had escaped from the same attack with nothing more than a scar on his forehead, where Voldemort's curse, instead of killing him, had rebounded upon its originator. Barely alive, Voldemort had fled...**

Once again everyone stood in complete silence, James looked at Harry and waved him over, he did so without hesitation and sat between his parents, Remus and Sirius had returned to their previous position, trying to console one another while Romulus patted Remus' back

**But Harry had come face-to-face with him at Hogwarts. Remembering their last meeting as he stood at the dark window, Harry had to admit he was lucky even to have reached his thirteenth birthday.**

**"**I know you have questions but please wait until we finish this chapter? I promise there will be some time for questions later" Remmy asked, looking at Teddy's hair and wondering how long it would be until he lost his patience, thankfully everyone nodded, thought they looked reluctant

**He scanned the starry sky for a sign of Hedwig, perhaps soaring back to him with a dead mouse dangling from her beak, expecting praise. Gazing absently over the rooftops, it was a few seconds before Harry realized what he was seeing.**

**Silhouetted against the golden moon, and growing larger every moment, was a large, strangely lopsided creature, and it was flapping in Harry's direction. He stood quite still, watching it sink lower and lower. For a split second he hesitated, his hand on the window latch, wondering whether to slam it shut. But then the bizarre creature soared over one of the street lamps of Privet Drive, and Harry, realizing what it was, leapt aside.**

**Through the window soared ****_four _****owls, two of them holding up ****_a_**** third, which appeared to be unconscious. They landed with a soft flump on Harry's bed, and the middle owl, which was large and gray, keeled right over and lay motionless. There was a large package tied to its legs.**

**Harry recognized the unconscious owl at once - his name was Errol, and he belonged to the Weasley family.**

"RONALD BILLIUS WEASLEY!" Mrs. Weasley glared at Ron "WE TOLD YOU THAT ERROL COULDN'T DO THE TRIP!"

"I…yes…but…mum…listen" Ron tried to explain, sending Teddy a look, begging him to continue

** Harry dashed to the bed, untied the cords around Errol's legs, took off the parcel, and then carried Errol to Hedwig's cage. Errol opened one bleary eye, gave a feeble hoot of thanks, and began to gulp some water.**

"awww, the poor thing" cooed all the girls, along with both Leon and Charlie, much to everyone's amusement

**Harry turned back to the remaining owls. One of them, the large snowy female, was his own Hedwig. She, too, was carrying a parcel and looked extremely pleased with herself. She gave Harry an affectionate nip with her beak as he removed her burden, and then flew across the room to join Errol.**

**_The third owl was one that he had only seen a few times, but recognized it as Leon's owl, though he wasn't sure whether his name was Coal or Cole. He was a large and black owl that stood proudly, getting close to Harry with his package_**

**"**His name is Cole" Adhara and Lupin chorused

"No, it's Coal" Zania glared, Leon signaled for Teddy to hurry up, before they could get into another argument

**_Once Harry took the parcel he flew to join Errol and Hedwig, drinking some water as well._**

**Harry didn't recognize the ****_fourth_**** owl, a handsome tawny one, but he knew at once where it had come from, because in addition to a third package, it was carrying a letter bearing the Hogwarts crest. When Harry relieved this owl of its burden, it ruffled its feathers importantly, stretched its wings, and took off through the window into the night.**

**Harry sat down on his bed and grabbed Errol's package, ripped off the brown paper, and discovered a present wrapped in gold, and his first ever birthday card. Fingers trembling slightly, he opened the envelope. Two pieces of paper fell out - a letter and a newspaper clipping.**

**The clipping had clearly come out of the wizarding newspaper, the Daily Prophet, because the people in the black-and-white picture were moving. Harry picked up the clipping, smoothed it out, and read:**

**MINISTRY OF MAGIC EMPLOYEE SCOOPS GRAND PRIZE**

******Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry of Magic, has won the annual Daily Prophet Grand Prize Galleon Draw.**

"wow, congratulations!" The people from the past exclaimed, getting smiles and thank-yous from the Weasleys

**A delighted Mr. Weasley told the Daily Prophet, "We will be spending the gold on a summer holiday in Egypt, where our eldest son, Bill, works as a curse breaker for Gringotts Wizarding Bank."**

******The Weasley family will be spending a month in Egypt, returning for the start of the new school year at Hogwarts, which five of the Weasley children currently attend****.**

**Harry scanned the moving photograph, and a grin spread across his face as he saw all nine of the Weasleys waving furiously at him, standing in front of a large pyramid. Plump little Mrs. Weasley; tail, balding Mr. Weasley; six sons; and one daughter, all (though the black-and-white picture didn't show it) with flaming-red hair. Right in the middle of the picture was Ron, tall and gangling, with his pet rat, Scabbers, on his shoulder and his arm around his little sister, Ginny.**

**Harry couldn't think of anyone who deserved to win a large pile of gold more than the Weasleys,**

"Neither can we**" **Adhara and Zania grinned, looking up at the Weasley twins

**who were very nice and extremely poor. He picked up Ron's letter and unfolded it.**

**Dear Harry,**

******Happy birthday!**

******Look, I' really sorry about that telephone call. I hope the Muggles didn't give you a hard time. I asked Dad, and he reckons I shouldn't have shouted.**

"Noo, you think?" Leon snarked

**It's amazing here in Egypt. Bill's taken us around all the tombs and you wouldn't believe the curses those old Egyptian wizards put on them. Mum wouldn't let Ginny come in the last one. There were all these mutant skeletons in there, of Muggles who'd broken in and grown extra heads and stuff.**

******I couldn't believe it when Dad won the Daily Prophet Draw. Seven hundred galleons! Most of it is gone on this trip, but they're going to buy me a new wand for next year.**

**Harry remembered only too well the occasion when Ron's old wand had snapped. It had happened when the car the two of them had been flying to Hogwarts had crashed into a tree on the school grounds.**

**We'll be back about a week before term starts and we'll be going up to London to get my wand and our new books. Any chance of meeting you there?**

******Don't let the Muggles get you down!**

******Try and come to London,**

******Ron**

******P.S. Percy's Head Boy. He got the letter last week.**

Percy smiled proudly, puffing up his chest

**Harry glanced back at the photograph. Percy, who was in his seventh and final year at Hogwarts, was looking particularly smug. He had pinned his Head Boy badge to the fez perched jauntily on top of his neat hair, his horn-rimmed glasses flashing in the Egyptian sun.**

The Marauders looked at one another, trying very hard not to laugh, both sets of twins however, weren't trying all that hard, and everyone else seemed to be quite amused

**Harry now turned to his present and unwrapped it. Inside was what looked like a miniature glass spinning top. There was another note from Ron beneath it.**

******Harry - this is a Pocket Sneakoscope. If there's someone untrustworthy around, it's supposed to light up and spin. Bill says it's rubbish sold for wizard tourists and isn't reliable, because it kept lighting up at dinner last night. But he didn't realize Fred and George had put beetles in his soup.**

******Bye -**

******Ron**

**Harry put the Pocket Sneakoscope on his bedside table, where it stood quite still, balanced on its point, reflecting the luminous hands of his clock. He looked at it happily for a few seconds, then picked up the parcel Hedwig had brought.**

**Inside this, too, there was a wrapped present, a card, and a letter, this time from Hermione.**

**Dear Harry,**

******Ron wrote to me and told me about his phone call to your Uncle Vernon. I do hope you're all right.**

******I'm on holiday in France at the moment and I didn't know how I was going to send this to you - what if they'd opened it at customs? - but then Hedwig turned up! I think she wanted to make sure you got something for your birthday for a change. I bought your present by owl-order; there was an advertisement in the Daily Prophet (I've been getting it delivered; it's so good to keep up with what's going on in the wizarding world), Did you see that picture of Ron and his family a week ago? I bet he's learning loads. I'm really jealous - the ancient Egyptian wizards were fascinating.**

"Yeah right, I bet he learned a lot" Leon smirked at Ron who smiled back

"oh yeah, I learned that Egyptians had really wicked curses, and that even after years of living with the twins, Bill still falls for their tricks" he answered, causing almost everyone to laugh

******There's some interesting local history of witchcraft here, too. I've rewritten my whole History of Magic essay to include some of the things I've found out, I hope it's not too long - it's two rolls of parchment more than Professor Binns asked for.**

"Two rolls of parchment? Not even I wrote that much" Lily said surprised while Remus nodded

"I'm afraid that is a tad excessive, most teachers wouldn't accept that" Lupin explained kindly "they would rather you hand in a complete but synthetized work, that shows that you can tell the important details from the irrelevant, that's why we give certain limits, doing a little more is ok, perfect even, but two rolls of parchment would be a tad excessive to most teacher"

"Oh, I understand, thanks professor" Hermione nodded, looking pensive

******Ron says he's going to be in London in the last week of the holidays. Can you make it? Will your aunt and uncle let you come? I really hope you can. If not, I'll see you on the Hogwarts Express on September first!**

******Love from Hermione**

******P.S. Ron says Percy's Head Boy. I'll bet Percy's really pleased Ron doesn't seem too happy about it**

Percy gave Ron a hurt look while Ron blushed and looked at anything but his brother

**Harry laughed as he put Herrmone's letter aside and picked up her present. It was very heavy. Knowing Hermione, he was sure it would be a large book full of very difficult spells - but it wasn't. His heart gave a huge bound as he ripped back the paper and saw a sleek black leather case, with silver words stamped across it, reading Broomstick Servicing Kit.**

**"Wow, Hermione!" Harry whispered, unzipping the case to look inside.**

**There was a large jar of Fleetwood's High-Finish Handle Polish, a pair of gleaming silver Tall-Twig Clippers, a tiny brass compass to clip on your broom for long journeys, and a Handbook of Do-It-Yourself Broomcare.**

All the Quidditch fans were drooling

**Apart from his friends, the thing that Harry missed most about Hogwarts was Quidditch, the most popular sport in the magical world - highly dangerous, very exciting, and played on broomsticks. Harry happened to be a very good Quidditch player; he had been the youngest person in a century to be picked for one of the Hogwarts House teams.**

"wow, you hear that Pads? My son is awesome!" James grinned at his friend, hugging his son

** One of Harry's most prized possessions was his Nimbus Two Thousand racing broom.**

**Harry put the leather case aside and ****_took Leon's parcel, and like before he saw a letter, a card, and a present. Harry put the package aside and opened the letter._**

**_Dear Harry_**

**_Sorry I haven't written before, but we only just got home, we went camping so I couldn't really write. Ron told me about the phone call, I hope you didn't get into a lot of trouble, I think we should teach Ron a few things about muggles, but oh well._**

**_I had a bit of trouble trying to decide what to get you for your birthday, and you might not like it, but I remembered how interested you were the other day so I thought it might be a good idea (and not reading these is a crime, in my opinion) so hopefully you'll like them, they're my favorites and they could make your stay at the Dursleys more…tolerable. By the way, I imagine Ron already told you about his trip? The twins told us all about it, apparently Fred and George wouldn't stop bragging. But how about you, how terrible are your holidays? Tell you what, you should come visit, I'm sure my uncle wouldn't mind, we live really close to Diagon Alley, so if you write I'm sure we could pick you up, you only have to tell your relatives where to leave you!_**

**_Anyway, I better go, my sisters are looking suspicious so I'm going to go hide somewhere else._**

**_Leon_**

**_P.S: my uncle and the twins made the chocolate fudge, hope you like it, and they send their best wishes_**

**_Harry opened the present, taking the chocolate fudge and putting it aside and opening Leon's present and he smiled once he saw the package of books, containing Alice in Wonderlan, Through the Looking Glass, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and The Hobbit_**

"you sent him books" Ron deadpanned, turning to look at Leon

"oh! I love Alice in Wonderland, though I've never read The Lord of the Rings" Hermione said at the same time

"Blasphemy! They are the best books ever! You have to read them!" Leon told her, ignoring Ron

"They are really interesting" Harry nodded

"Please continue, otherwise he will never stop talking" Zania told Teddy

**_ Harry had seen him reading them more than once, and he had asked what they were about he had talked nonstop about Lord of the Rings, and when he had mentioned Alice in Wonderland and saw that Harry had never read it he had promised to lend it to him. Harry shook his head fondly and put the books aside, planning on reading them later on, (he debated on whether to eat the fudge now or later, but in the end he decided it might be better to wait) then he _****picked up his last parcel. He recognized the untidy scrawl on the brown paper at once: this was from Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper. He tore off the top layer of paper and glimpsed something green and leathery, but before he could unwrap it properly, the parcel gave a strange quiver, and whatever was inside it snapped loudly - as though it had jaws.**

"He didn't send you anything dangerous, did he?" Mrs. Weasly worried, looking at the boy

"He better not have!" Lily glared at the book

**Harry froze. He knew that Hagrid would never send him anything dangerous on purpose, but then, Hagrid didn't have a normal person's view of what was dangerous. Hagrid had been known to befriend giant spiders, buy vicious, three-headed dogs from men in pubs, and sneak illegal dragon eggs into his cabin.**

"Please tell me you don't know that from experience" Lily said, her voice shaking

"Hey, dad…" Leon started

"No, Leon, you can't have _any _of those" Lupin facepalmed

**Harry poked the parcel nervously. It snapped loudly again. Harry reached for the lamp on his bedside table, gripped it firmly in one hand, and raised it over his head, ready to strike. Then he seized the rest of the wrapping paper in his other hand and pulled.**

Everyone leaned close

**And out fell - a book.**

"A book? All that for a book?" Romulus looked confused at his brother, who shrugged

** Harry just had time to register its handsome green cover, emblazoned with the golden title The Monster Book of Monsters, before it flipped onto its edge and scuttled sideways along the bed like some weird crab.**

"Oh…not a normal book then" Romulus paled "is that sort of thing normal?"

**"Uh-oh," Harry muttered.**

**The book toppled off the bed with a loud clunk and shuffled rapidly across the room. Harry followed it stealthily. The book was hiding in the dark space under his desk. Praying that the Dursleys were still fast asleep, Harry got down on his hands and knees and reached toward it.**

**"Ouch!"**

"Be careful Harry" Lily whispered

"Mom, I'm right here" Harry smirked while James chuckled

"Oh, shut up" Lily blushed but smiled at hearing Harry calling her mom

**The book snapped shut on his hand and then flapped past him, still scuttling on its covers. Harry scrambled around, threw himself forward, and managed to flatten it. Uncle Vernon gave a loud, sleepy grunt in the room next door.**

**Hedwig, ****_Cole,_**** and Errol watched interestedly as Harry clamped the struggling book tightly in his arms, hurried to his chest of drawers, and pulled out a belt, which he buckled tightly around it. The Monster Book shuddered angrily, but could no longer flap and snap, so Harry threw it down on the bed and reached for Hagrid's card.**

**Dear Harry,**

**Happy Birthday!**

**Think you might find this useful for next year. Won't say no more here. Tell you when I see you. Hope the Muggles are treating you right.**

**All the best,**

**Hagrid**

"I hope he doesn't expect you to help him with some dangerous creature!" Mrs. Weasley glared at the book, crossing her arms. Lily and Lupin nodded seriously

"I hope he does" Leon whispered to Harry, both Remus heard him, Lupin glared at him warningly while Remus tried not to chuckle, remembering that this was either his son or his nephew, and not wanting him to get hurt.

**It struck Harry as ominous that Hagrid thought a biting book would come in useful, but he put Hagrid's card up next to Ron's and Hermione's, grinning more broadly than ever. Now there was only the letter from Hogwarts left.**

**Noticing that it was rather thicker than usual, Harry slit open the envelope, pulled out the first page of parchment within, and read:**

**Dear Mr. Potter,**

**Please note that the new school year will begin on September the first. The Hogwarts Express will leave ftom King's Cross station, platform nine and three-quarters, at eleven o'clock.**

**Third years are permitted to visit the village of Hogsmeade on certain weekends. Please give the enclosed permission form to your parent or guardian to sign.**

**A list of books for next year is enclosed. Yours sincerely,**

**Professor M. McGonagall**

**Deputy Headmistress**

"YES! HOGSMEADE!" Sirius yelled causing Remus to cover his ears and elbow him in the stomach

**Harry pulled out the Hogsmeade permission form and looked at it, no longer grinning. It would be wonderful to visit Hogsmeade on weekends; he knew it was an entirely wizarding village, and he had never set foot there. But how on earth was he going to persuade Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia to sign the form?**

"They better sign your form, or I swear I'll come back as a ghost to haunt their ass!" James growled

"Language!" Mrs. Weasley said, out of habit

**He looked over at the alarm clock. It was now two o'clock in the morning.**

"Oh dear, you should probably go to sleep darling" Lily worried, Harry smiled and shook his head fondly

**Deciding that he'd worry about the Hogsmeade form when he woke up, Harry got back into bed and reached up to cross off another day on the chart he'd made for himself, counting down the days left until his return to Hogwarts. **

"Oh, I used to do that too" Lily smiled

"So did I" said Sirius, though he wasn't smiling, remembering his family life, and hoping that Harry's wasn't as bad as his, Remus saw this and gave his friend a one-armed hug in an attempt to comfort him.

**Then he took off his glasses and lay down, eyes open, facing his three birthday cards.**

**Extremely unusual though he was, at that moment Harry Potter felt just like everyone else - glad, for the first time in his life, that it was his birthday.**

"That was quite bittersweet" James said while everyone nodded

"Ok, listen, I know you have questions, so this is what I propose" Remmy spoke up "you can write them down, and after we finish this next chapter we'll take some time off to eat, talk, and answer your questions"

"Sounds like a good plan" Romulus shrugged, everyone nodded their approval

"Brilliant, then who would like to read next?" Teddy asked

"Let's do it in order, I'll go next" Romulus smiled at the kid, taking the book

**AUNT MARGE'S BIG MISTAKE**

* * *

There you go, new chapter, hope you enjoy it.

I'll try to have a new chapter each week, but I'm starting school soon, so don't be surprised if I take some time

hope you enjoyed it, and please review


	3. Chapter 3 Aunt Marge's big mistake

Here you go, new chapter, as promised!

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, only my OCs

**Everything written like this belongs to the great JK Rowling**

_**Everything written like this are the things I added to the story**_

And everything written like this is the actual story

* * *

**AUNT MARGE'S BIG MISTAKE**

"Who's aunt Marge?" Lily asked, looking down at her son "I don't have any relative called Marge"

"She's Uncle Vernon's sister" Harry answered

"She's the one you…" Ron trailed off, Harry nodded and both he and Leon started laughing

**Harry went down to breakfast the next morning to find the three Dursleys already sitting around the kitchen table. They were watching a brand-new television, a welcome-home-for-the-summer present for Dudley, who had been complaining loudly about the long walk between the fridge and the television in the living room. **

"What a lazy ass" Charlie stated, getting nods from all the room

"Charles! Language" Molly chided

**Dudley had spent most of the summer in the kitchen, his piggy little eyes fixed on the screen and his five chins wobbling as he ate continually.**

The sentence was met with various faces of disgust and incredulity around the room

**Harry sat down between Dudley and Uncle Vernon, a large, beefy man with very little neck and a lot of mustache. Far from wishing Harry a happy birthday, none of the Dursleys made any sign that they had noticed Harry enter the room, but Harry was far too used to this to care. **

"You shouldn't be!" James growled, glaring at the book.

**He helped himself to a piece of toast and then looked up at the reporter on the television, who was halfway through a report on an escaped convict:**

**"... The public is warned that Black is armed and extremely dangerous. A special hot line has been set up, and any sighting of Black should be reported immediately."**

"Wait, Black?" Sirius asked, looking worried

"Don't worry Sirius, Black is a pretty common Muggle surname" Lily smiled, Sirius nodded, missing the worried looks all around the room, and the few glares from the Weasleys, Remus however did not miss them, and stared puzzled around the room settling on his elder counterpart, who was avoiding his eyes.

**"No need to tell us he's no good," snorted Uncle Vernon, staring over the top of his newspaper at the prisoner. "Look at the state of him, the filthy layabout! Look at his hair!"**

"Definitely not you then Pads" James grinned at his best friend

**He shot a nasty look sideways at Harry, whose untidy hair had always been a source of great annoyance to Uncle Vernon.**

"HEY! The Potter Hair is awesome!" James yelled, losing his grin

** Compared to the man on the television, however, whose gaunt face was surrounded by a matted, elbow-length tangle, Harry felt very well groomed indeed.**

Leon and Ron snickered at that, until Hermione glared at them up and they shut up.

**The reporter had reappeared.**

**"The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries will announce today -"**

**"Hang on!" barked Uncle Vernon, staring furiously at the reporter. "You didn't tell us where that maniac's escaped from! What use is that? Lunatic could be coming up the street right now!"**

**Aunt Petunia, who was bony and horse-faced, whipped around and peered intently out of the kitchen window. Harry knew Aunt Petunia would simply love to be the one to call the hot line was the nosiest woman in the world and spent most of her life spying on the boring, law-abiding neighbors.**

"Oh good, she hasn't changed at all" Lily deadpanned, raising an eyebrow

"Of course not: she doesn't like change" Harry replied in the same tone of voice

**"When will they learn," said Uncle Vernon, pounding the table with his large purple fist, "that hanging's the only way to deal with these people?"**

Everyone in the room was looking at the book in horror

"How brutal!" Molly gasped

"Savages" Romulus muttered before continuing

**"Very true," said Aunt Petunia, who was still squinting into next door's runner beans.**

**Uncle Vernon drained his teacup, glanced at his watch, and added, "I'd better be off in a minute, Petunia. Marge's train gets in at ten."**

**Harry, whose thoughts had been upstairs with the Broomstick Servicing Kit, was brought back to earth with an unpleasant bump.**

"Oh, you don't like her do you?" Bill grimaced

"Not one bit" Harry shook his head

**"Aunt Marge?" he blurted out. "Sh - she's not coming here, is she?"**

**Aunt Marge was Uncle Vernon's sister. Even though she was not a blood relative of Harry's (whose mother had been Aunt Petunia's sister), he had been forced to call her "Aunt" all his life. Aunt Marge lived in the country, in a house with a large garden, where she bred bulldogs. She didn't often stay at Privet Drive, because she couldn't bear to leave her precious dogs, but each of her visits stood out horribly vividly in Harry's mind.**

"Sounds like a work of art that one" Charlie said, raising an eyebrow

**At Dudley's fifth birthday party, Aunt Margo had whacked Harry around the shins with her walking stick to stop him from beating Dudley at musical statues.**

Remmy raised one hand, and shushing everyone motioned for Romulus to continue

** A few years later, she had turned up at Christmas with a computerized robot for Dudley and a box of dog biscuits for Harry. On her last visit, the year before Harry started at Hogwarts, Harry had accidentally trodden on the tail of her favorite dog. Ripper had chased Harry out into the garden and up a tree, and Aunt Marge had refused to call him off until past midnight. The memory of this incident still brought tears of laughter to Dudley's eyes.**

Remmy lowered his hand, and now everyone was looking murderous, even Mr. Weasley, who Harry had never seen angry, was red-faced with anger. No one said anything, too angry to speak and after a few seconds Romulus took a deep breath and continued reading

**"Marge'll be here for a week," Uncle Vernon snarled, 11 and while we're on the subject" - he pointed a fat finger threateningly at Harry - "we need to get a few things straight before I go and collect her."**

**Dudley smirked and withdrew his gaze from the television. Watching Harry being bullied by Uncle Vernon was Dudley's favorite form of entertainment.**

"Why those…" James started, Romulus started reading quickly, cutting him off, though his voice was shaking with anger, he might not know Harry, but he knew James and he knew he was a great friend, he didn't deserve this, and he knew his son didn't either

**"Firstly," growled Uncle Vernon, "you'll keep a civil tongue in your head when you're talking to Marge."**

**"All right," said Harry bitterly, "if she does when she's talking to me."**

"You tell him pup!" Sirius cheered

"Just be careful" Remus added, though he nodded approvingly

**"Secondly," said Uncle Vernon, acting as though he had not heard Harry's reply, "as Marge doesn't know anything about your abnormality, I don't want any - any funny stuff while she's here. You behave yourself, got me?"**

"He can't even say the word _magic, _can he?" Zania raised her eyebrow

"What an idiot" Adhara sighed "I'm so sorry you had to live with them Harry"

"it's not your fault" Harru blushed

**"I will if she does," said Harry through gritted teeth.**

**"And thirdly," said Uncle Vernon, his mean little eyes now slits in his great purple face, "we've told Marge you attend St. Brutus's Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys."**

"WHAT?!"

**"What?" Harry yelled.**

**"And you'll be sticking to that story, boy, or there'll be trouble, spat Uncle Vernon.**

By now everyone was glaring at the book, cursing under their breath

**Harry sat there, white-faced and furious, staring at Uncle Vernon, hardly able to believe it. Aunt Marge coming for a weeklong visit - it was the worst birthday present the Dursleys had ever given him, including that pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks.**

"I really don't think that counts as a present Harry" Leon said, amused by Harry and angry at his relatives

**"Well, Petunia," said Uncle Vernon, getting heavily to his feet, "I'll be off to the station, then. Want to come along for the ride, Dudders?"**

**"No," said Dudley, whose attention had returned to the television now that Uncle Vernon had finished threatening Harry.**

"Disgusting pig" Ron muttered

**"Duddy's got to make himself smart for his auntie," said Aunt Petunia, smoothing Dudley's thick blond hair. "Mummy's bought him a lovely new bow tie."**

"Lovely thought—" Zania said

"—but I doubt it'll be visible" Adhara sighed

"Not under all those chins—" Fred grinned

"—it won't" George snorted

**Uncle Vernon clapped Dudley on his porky shoulder. "See you in a bit, then," he said, and he left the kitchen.**

**Harry, who had been sitting in a kind of horrified trance, had a sudden idea. Abandoning his toast, he got quickly to his feet and followed Uncle Vernon to the front door.**

**Uncle Vernon was pulling on his car coat.**

**"I'm not taking you," he snarled as he turned to see Harry watching him.**

"Like he wanted to go" James glowered

**"Like I wanted to come," said Harry coldly. **

Everyone that had heard James snickered

"Like father like son" Remus laughed

**"I want to ask you something."**

**Uncle Vernon eyed him suspiciously.**

**"Third years at Hog - at my school are allowed to visit the village sometimes," said Harry.**

**"So?" snapped Uncle Vernon, taking his car keys from a hook next to the door.**

**"I need you to sign the permission form," said Harry in a rush.**

"Oh you sneaky, smart, and clever cub" Lupin grinned, guessing what he was going to do, Harry grinned at him

**"And why should I do that?" sneered Uncle Vernon.**

**"Well," said Harry, choosing his words carefully, "it'll be hard work, pretending to Aunt Marge I go to that St. Whatsits -"**

Everyone smiled, understanding what Harry was doing

"Very clever Harry" Mr. Weasley smiled winking at the boy

**"St. Brutus's Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys!" bellowed Uncle Vernon, and Harry was pleased to hear a definite note of panic in Uncle Vernon's voice.**

**"Exactly," said Harry, looking calmly up into Uncle Vernon's large, purple face. "It's a lot to remember. I'll have to make it sound convincing, won't I? What if I accidentally let something slip?"**

**"You'll get the stuffing knocked out of you, won't you?" roared Uncle Vernon, advancing on Harry with his fist raised. But Harry stood his ground.**

"You better not touch him"

**"Knocking the stuffing out of me won't make Aunt Marge forget what I could tell her," he said grimly.**

**Uncle Vernon stopped, his fist still raised, his face an ugly puce.**

**"But if you sign my permission form," Harry went on quickly, "I swear I'll remember where I'm supposed to go to school, and I'll act like a Mug - like I'm normal and everything."**

"Very smart thinking pup" Sirius complimented

**Harry could tell that Uncle Vernon was thinking it over, even if his teeth were bared and a vein was throbbing in his temple.**

**"Right," he snapped finally. "I shall monitor your behavior carefully during Marge's visit. If, at the end of it, you've toed the line and kept to the story, I'll sign your ruddy form."**

**He wheeled around, pulled open the front door, and slammed it so hard that one of the little panes of glass at the top fell out.**

"He's as bratty as his son" Leon grimaced "if one of us slammed our doors we wouldn't see the sun shining for days"

"Weeks" corrected Remus "definitely months if you started behaving like that boy"

**Harry didn't return to the kitchen. He went back upstairs to his bedroom. If he was going to act like a real Muggle, he'd better start now. Slowly and sadly he gathered up all his presents and his birthday cards and hid them under the loose floorboard with his homework. Then he went to Hedwig's cage. Errol seemed to have recovered; he, ****_Coal,_** ** and Hedwig were both asleep, heads under their wings. Harry sighed, then poked them both awake.**

"I hope you did that gently" Leon glared at his best friend, Charlie looked at the boy beside him amused

"I did, don't worry" Harry stuck his tongue out at him

**"Hedwig," he said gloomily, "you're going to have to clear off for a week. Go with Errol. Ron'll look after you. I'll write him a note, explaining. And don't look at me like that" - Hedwig's large amber eyes were reproachful - "it's not my fault. It's the only way I'll be allowed to visit Hogsmeade with Ron and Hermione. ****_Coal, you have to get back to Leon_****"**

"His name is Cole!"

"Sorry!" Harry grimaced

**Ten minutes later, Errol and Hedwig (who had a note to Ron bound to her leg) soared out of the window and out of sight. Harry, now feeling thoroughly miserable, put the empty cage away inside the wardrobe.**

Harry looked down, avoiding all the pitying stares thrown his way

**But Harry didn't have long to brood. In next to no time, Aunt Petunia was shrieking up the stairs for Harry to come down and get ready to welcome their guest.**

"She should just go f—" Zania started

"Finish that sentence and you'll regret it young lady" Lupin sighed

"—fly a kite, she can just go fly a kite" Zania continued, blushing slightly while everyone chuckled lightly

**"Do something about your hair!" Aunt Petunia snapped as he reached the hall.**

**Harry couldn't see the point of trying to make his hair lie flat. Aunt Marge loved criticizing him, so the untidier he looked, the happier she would be.**

**All too soon, there was a crunch of gravel outside as Uncle Vernon's car pulled back into the driveway, then the clunk of the car doors and footsteps on the garden path.**

**"Get the door!" Aunt Petunia hissed at Harry.**

"Zania, I think I agree with you" Fred muttered

**A feeling of great gloom in his stomach, Harry pulled the door open.**

"I'm really not looking forward to this" Lily said nervously

"Neither was I mum" Harry answered

**On the threshold stood Aunt Marge. She was very like Uncle Vernon: large, beefy, and purple- faced, she even had a mustache, though not as bushy as his. **

"That one's a looker" Sirius said, repulsed

**In one hand she held an enormous suitcase, and tucked under the other was an old and evil-tempered bulldog.**

"Oh come on, don't blame the dog for what the owner dogs, dogs are adorable" Sirius complained

"This one isn't Sirius" Harry shuddered

"Well, they do say that dogs are a lot like their owners" Remus said amused

**"Where's my Dudders?" roared Aunt Marge. "Where's my neffy-poo?"**

There were chuckles around the room, and a few kids shook their heads in horror at the horrible nickname

**Dudley came waddling down the hall, his blond hair plastered flat to his fat head, a bow tie just visible under his many chins. **

"Oh, so you _can _actually see it" Leon exclaimed surprised "Who'd have thought"

**Aunt Marge thrust the suitcase into Harry's stomach, knocking the wind out of him, seized Dudley in a tight one-armed hug, and planted a large kiss on his cheek.**

"What a…"

"ZANIA!"

" female canis lupus familiaris"

**Harry knew perfectly well that Dudley only put up with Aunt Marge's hugs because he was well paid for it, and sure enough, when they broke apart, Dudley had a crisp twenty-pound note clutched in his fat fist.**

"You little…" "That bloody…"

"Leon, don't start please"

"Ron, same goes for you!"

"Yes mum/dad"

**"Petunia!" shouted Aunt Marge, striding past Harry as though he was a hat stand. Aunt Marge and Aunt Petunia kissed, or rather, Aunt Marge bumped her large jaw against Aunt Petunia's bony cheekbone.**

**Uncle Vernon now came in, smiling jovially as he shut the door.**

**"Tea, Marge?" he said. "And what will Ripper take?"**

**"Ripper can have some tea out of my saucer," said Aunt Marge as they all proceeded into the kitchen, leaving Harry alone in the hall with the suitcase. But Harry wasn't complaining; any excuse not to be with Aunt Marge was fine by him, so he began to heave the case upstairs into the spare bedroom, taking as long as he could.**

"Good idea, we don't want to hear about her either" Bill shuddered

**By the time he got back to the kitchen, Aunt Marge had been supplied with tea and fruitcake, and Ripper was lapping noisily in the corner. Harry saw Aunt Petunia wince slightly as specks of tea and drool flecked her clean floor. Aunt Petunia hated animals.**

The marauders smiled evilly, going unnoticed by everyone but Lupin, Harry, and Lily, who were looking at them slightly worried (well, Lupin wasn't actually worried)

**"Who's looking after the other dogs, Marge?" Uncle Vernon asked.**

**"Oh, I've got Colonel Fubster managing them," boomed Aunt Marge. "He's retired now, good for him to have something to do. But I couldn't leave poor old Ripper. He pines if he's away from me."**

**Ripper began to growl again as Harry sat down. This directed Aunt Marge's attention to Harry for the first time.**

"Darned dog" muttered Remus

**"So!" she barked. "Still here, are you?"**

**"Yes," said Harry.**

**"Don't you say yes' in that ungrateful tone," Aunt Marge growled. "It's damn good of Vernon and Petunia to keep you. Wouldn't have done it myself. You'd have gone straight to an orphanage if you'd been dumped on my doorstep."**

"He'd probably be happier there" Sirius growled "Why are you with them anyway? Why aren't you with Remus? Or with me, or with anyone but them?"

"Sirius, please, it will be explained later" Teddy begged, motioning for Romulus to continue

**Harry was bursting to say that he'd rather live in an orphanage than with the Dursleys, but the thought of the Hogsmeade form stopped him. He forced his face into a painful smile.**

**"Don't you smirk at me!" boomed Aunt Marge. "I can see you haven't improved since I last saw you. I hoped school would knock some manners into you." She took a large gulp of tea, wiped her mustache, and said, "Where is it that you send him, again, Vernon?"**

**"St. Brutus's," said Uncle Vernon promptly. "It's a first-rate institution for hopeless cases."**

"He goes to Hogwarts you oversized walrus" James glared at the book

**"I see," said Aunt Marge. "Do they use the cane at St. Brutus's, boy?" she barked across the table.**

**"Er -"**

**Uncle Vernon nodded curtly behind Aunt Marge's back.**

**"Yes," said Harry. Then, feeling he might as well do the thing properly, he added, "all the time."**

**"Excellent," said Aunt Marge. "I won't have this namby-pamby, wishy-washy nonsense about not hitting people who deserve it. A good thrashing is what's needed in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred. Have you been beaten often?"**

"That savage woman" Lily glared "what was it that you called her Zania?"

"female canis lupus familiaris" Zania smiled

**"Oh, yeah," said Harry, "loads of times."**

**Aunt Marge narrowed her eyes.**

**"I still don't like your tone, boy," she said. "If you can speak of your beatings in that casual way, they clearly aren't hitting you hard enough. Petunia, I'd write if I were you. Make it clear that you approve the use of extreme force in this boy's case."**

"I don't like her" Sirius growled

"No one likes her" Remus said

**Perhaps Uncle Vernon was worried that Harry might forget their bargain; in any case, he changed the subject abruptly.**

**"Heard the news this morning, Marge? What about that escaped prisoner, eh?"**

**As Aunt Marge started to make herself at home, Harry caught himself thinking almost longingly of life at number four without her. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia usually encouraged Harry to stay out of their way, which Harry was only too happy to do. Aunt Marge, on the other hand, wanted Harry under her eye at all times, so that she could boom out suggestions for his improvement.**

"I have a suggestion for _your _improvement" Charlie muttered

** She delighted in comparing Harry with Dudley, and took huge pleasure in buying Dudley expensive presents while glaring at Harry, as though daring him to ask why he hadn't got a present too. She also kept throwing out dark hints about what made Harry such an unsatisfactory person.**

"Because you are such a—" Fred said

"Pleasing person yourself" George continued

**"You mustn't blame yourself for the way the boy's turned out, Vernon," she said over lunch on the third day. "If there's something rotten on the inside, there's nothing anyone can do about it."**

"Like you, you mean?" Adhara raised an eyebrow "and your brother obviously"

**Harry tried to concentrate on his food, but his hands shook and his face was starting to burn with anger. Remember the form, he told himself, Think about Hogsmeade. Don't say anything. Don't rise**

"Don't let her get to you Harry" Hermione said, Harry didn't dare tell anyone that they were effectively talking to a book about things that were in the past, he looked at Teddy and Remmy, who looked both amused and angry for some reason

**Aunt Marge reached for her glass of wine.**

**"It's one of the basic rules of breeding," she said. "You see it all the time with dogs. If there's something wrong with the bitch, there'll be something wrong with the pup -"**

"HOW DARE SHE!"

"LILY IS PERFECT YOU ROTTEN OLD HAG"

"DON'T YOU DARE CALL LILY A BITCH YOU HARPY!"

Lily had her eyes wide in shock, looking at the Marauders, smiling slightly at the fact that they were defending her; she looked around the room and saw everyone looking as angry as the Marauders, muttering under their breaths. Harry took his mum's hand in his and Lily smiled, hugging him close before standing and clearing her throat

"Everyone, please, I know that she's a…"

"Reeky onion-eyed toad" Zania offered

"ehm…yes, and thank you for defending me, but I'd rather finish this chapter as quickly as possible, so if you could continue Romulus"

"Alright, if you want to little lady" Romulus said, smiling faintly and then looking back at the book, gripping tightly in his fury

**At that moment, the wineglass Aunt Marge was holding exploded in her hand. Shards of glass flew in every direction and Aunt Marge sputtered and blinked, her great ruddy face dripping.**

**"Marge!" squealed Aunt Petunia. "Marge, are you all right?"**

**"Not to worry," grunted Aunt Marge, mopping her face with her napkin. "Must have squeezed it too hard. Did the same thing at Colonel Fubster's the other day. No need to fuss, Petunia, I have a very firm grip..."**

**But Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon were both looking at Harry suspiciously, so he decided he'd better skip dessert and escape from the table as soon as he could.**

"Good idea Harry" Lupin sighed

**Outside in the hall, he leaned against the wall, breathing deeply it had been a long time since he'd lost control and made something explode. He couldn't afford to let it happen again. The Hogsmeade form wasn't the only thing at stake - if he carried on like that, he'd be in trouble with the Ministry of Magic.**

"I doubt it, it's only accidental magic Harry, they would understand" Lily smiled at her son, who didn't meet her gaze, making her frown slightly

**Harry was still an underage wizard, and he was forbidden by wizard law to do magic outside school. His record wasn't exactly clean either.**

"Oh dear, what did you do?" Lily and James both asked, thought Lily looked worried while James tried very hard not to look excited, knowing that Lily wouldn't appreciate it

"It doesn't say" Romulus said and read

** Only last summer he'd gotten an official warning that had stated quite clearly that if the Ministry got wind of any more magic in Privet Drive, Harry would face expulsion from Hogwarts.**

"we'll be having a talk young man" Lily sighed

**He heard the Dursleys leaving the table and hurried upstairs out of the way.**

**Harry got through the next three days by forcing himself to think about his Handbook of Do-It-Yourself Broomcare whenever Aunt Marge started on him. **

"That was very useful, thank you Hermione" Harry smiled at her

"I'm glad I could help"

**This worked quite well, though it seemed to give him a glazed look, because Aunt Marge started voicing the opinion that he was mentally subnormal.**

"Your mum is mentally subnormal" George glared at the book

**At last, at long last, the final evening of Marge's stay arrived. **

"YAAAAY" Fred cheered

**Aunt Petunia cooked a fancy dinner and Uncle Vernon uncorked several bottles of wine. They got all the way through the soup and the salmon without a single mention of Harry's faults; during the lemon meringue pie, Uncle Vernon bored them a with a long talk about Grunnings, his drill-making company; then Aunt Petunia made coffee and Uncle Vernon brought out a bottle of brandy.**

**"Can I tempt you, Marge?"**

**Aunt Marge had already had quite a lot of wine. Her huge face was very red.**

**"Just a small one, then," she chuckled. "A bit more than that... and a bit more... that's the ticket."**

"That doesn't sound like a small one" Charlie raised an eyebrow, amused

"It wasn't" Harry answered

**Dudley was eating his fourth slice of pie. Aunt Petunia was sipping coffee with her little finger sticking out. Harry really wanted to disappear into his bedroom, but he met Uncle Vernon's angry little eyes and knew he would have to sit it out.**

"Oh just let him go" Percy muttered

**"Aah," said Aunt Marge, smacking her lips and putting the empty brandy glass back down. "Excellent nosh, Petunia. It's normally just a fry-up for me of an evening, with twelve dogs to look after..." She burped richly and patted her great tweed stomach. "Pardon me. But I do like to see a healthy-sized boy," she went on, winking at Dudley. "You'll be a proper-sized man, Dudders, like your father. Yes, I'll have a spot more brandy, Vernon..."**

"Yeah, a proper-sized whale maybe" Fred and George said

**"Now, this one here -"**

**She jerked her head at Harry, who felt his stomach clench. The Handbook, he thought quickly.**

**"This one's got a mean, runty look about him. You get that with dogs. I had Colonel Fubster drown one last year. Ratty little thing it was- Weak. Underbred."**

"Please tell me she's not implying what I think she's implying" Lily said, glaring at the book and looking dangerous

"I'm going to kill her, drowning, I think drowning would be perfect" James growled

**Harry was trying to remember page twelve of his book: A Charm to Cure Reluctant Reversers. "It all comes down to blood, as I was saying the other day. Bad blood will out. Now, I'm saying nothing against your family, Petunia" she patted Aunt Petunia's bony hand with her shovellike one "but your sister was a bad egg. They turn up in the best families. Then she ran off with a wastrel and here's the result right in front of us."**

"She's going to pay, I'll make her pay, how dare she" Sirius kept muttering under his breath, Remus took his hand, trying to calm him, though he was seething too, Lily and James were both like his siblings, they were his pack, and hearing that rotten woman talking like that about them made Moony very angry.

**Harry was staring at his plate, a funny ringing in his ears. Grasp your broom firmly by the tail, he thought. But he couldn't remember what came next. Aunt Marge's voice seemed to be boring into him like one of Uncle Vernon's drills.**

**"This Potter" said Aunt Marge loudly, seizing the brandy bottle and splashing more into her glass and over the tablecloth, "you never told me what he did?"**

**Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were looking extremely tense. Dudley had even looked up from his pie to gape at his parents.**

**"He - didn't work," said Uncle Vernon, with half a glance at Harry. "Unemployed."**

**"As I expected!" said Aunt Marge, taking a huge swig of brandy and wiping her chin on her sleeve. "A no-account, good-for-nothing, lazy scrounger who -"**

"I'm not! I'm training to become and auror, and as if you could talk you old hag"

**"He was not," said Harry suddenly. The table went very quiet. Harry was shaking all over. He had never felt so angry in his life.**

**"MORE BRANDY!" yelled Uncle Vernon, who had gone very white. He emptied the bottle into Aunt Marge's glass. "You, boy," he snarled at Harry. "Go to bed, go on -"**

**"No, Vernon," hiccuped Aunt Marge, holding up a hand, her tiny bloodshot eyes fixed on Harry's. "Go on, boy, go on. Proud of your parents, are you? They go and get themselves killed in a car crash (drunk, I expect) -"**

Romulus cleared his throat shifting nervously at everyone sending glares his way, even if they were directed at the book

**'They didn't die in a car crash!" said Harry, who found himself on his feet.**

**"They died in a car crash, you nasty little liar, and left you to be a burden on their decent, hardworking relatives!" screamed Aunt Marge, swelling with fury. "You are an insolent, ungrateful little -"**

**But Aunt Marge suddenly stopped speaking. For a moment, it looked as though words had failed her. She seemed to be swelling with inexpressible anger - but the swelling didn't stop.**

"Oh dear" Leon smirked "There it is"

Everyone that knew what had happened smirked, amused, while those who didn't looked confused

** Her great red face started to expand, her tiny eyes bulged, and her mouth stretched too tightly for speech - next second, several buttons had just burst from her tweed jacket and pinged off the walls - she was inflating like a monstrous balloon, her stomach bursting free of her tweed waistband, each of her fingers blowing up like a salami -**

**"MARGE!" yelled Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia together as Aunt Marge's whole body began to rise off her chair toward the ceiling. She was entirely round, now, like a vast life buoy with piggy eyes, and her hands and feet stuck out weirdly as she drifted up into the air, making apoplectic popping noises. **

Everyone in the room was laughing by now, amusement coloring Romulus voice as he continued

**Ripper came skidding into the room, barking madly.**

**"NOOOOOOO!"**

**Uncle Vernon seized one of Marge's feet and tried to pull her down again, but was almost lifted from the floor himself. A second later, Ripper leapt forward and sank his teeth into Uncle Vernon's leg.**

"Good boy" Sirius smirked

**Harry tore from the dining room before anyone could stop him, heading for the cupboard under the stairs. The cupboard door burst magically open as he reached it. **

"Impressive" Lupin muttered

"What?" Harry asked but Lupin shook his head

"I'll explain later"

**In seconds, he had heaved his trunk to the front door. He sprinted upstairs and threw himself under the bed, wrenching up the loose floorboard, and grabbed the pillowcase full of his books and birthday presents. He wriggled out, seized Hedwig's empty cage, and dashed back downstairs to his trunk, just as Uncle Vernon burst out of the dining room, his trouser leg in bloody tatters.**

**"COME BACK IN HERE!" he bellowed. "COME BACK AND PUT HER RIGHT!"**

**But a reckless rage had come over Harry. **

His three friends groaned and shook their heads, facepalming, Harry blushed and looked away, much to the amusement of everyone in the room

**He kicked his trunk open, pulled out his wand, and pointed it at Uncle Vernon.**

**"She deserved it," Harry said, breathing very fast. "She deserved what she got. You keep away from me."**

**He fumbled behind him for the latch on the door.**

**"I'm going," Harry said. "I've had enough."**

**And in the next moment, he was out in the dark, quiet street, heaving his heavy trunk behind him, Hedwig's cage under his arm.**

"That was it" Romulus closed the book

"Oh Merlin, Harry! That was a terrible idea! Something could have happened to you!" Lily fussed

"Alright, now we give you a choice" Remmy interrupted before any conversation could start

"We can pause and take a break, to explain and everything, or we could keep reading another chapter and _then _take a break, and also take some time to eat" Teddy explained

"Perhaps it's best if we continue, just to calm everyone and reassure ourselves that Harry got out of there safe" Mr. Weasley proposed

"Good idea, lovely idea, I like that idea" Lily muttered, holding her son close

"Well, alright then, d…ehem, Remus, could you read next then?" Teddy asked

"Yes, of course" Remus nodded

* * *

**Ok people, IMPORTANT QUESTION!**

**Do any of you have any preference over the pairings? so far the only pairings I have are: Lily/James, George/OC, Fred/OC, and Ron/Hermione, (and OC/OC but that one is minor) **

**So, do any of you have any preference over the others? Harry, Leon, and the rest of the Weasleys? (Well...except Bill, he's still marrying Fleur, because they are awesome together so...sorry if you don't like them) but please, Leave a review and let me know**

**Just so you guys know though, I take your opinions, and I appreciate them and welcome them, but if the pairing you suggested wasn't chosen...no hard feelings? There might be slash, and I'm warning you right...NOW but like all the other couples it will be subtle and ****_NOT_**** the center of the story, so if you don't like it you can ignore it...or stop reading, I'll warni you once it's decided whether there will be or not, don't worry**

**so tell me what you think! and until next time! **


	4. Chapter 4 The Knight Bus

**DISCLAIMER: I'm not blond, or british, or famous, and I'm broke, so obviously I don't own Harry Potter, I do however own Romulus, Leon, Adhara, and Zania, everything else belongs to Queen Rowling **

* * *

**THE KNIGHT BUS**

"Oh I love the Knight bus!" Sirius exclaimed, excited

"Are you kidding? That thing is awful!" Harry said baffled

**Harry was several streets away before he collapsed onto a low wall in Magnolia Crescent, panting from the effort of dragging his trunk. He sat quite still, anger still surging through him, listening to the frantic thumping of his heart.**

**But after ten minutes alone in the dark street, a new emotion overtook him: panic. **

"Oh, so you do have some self-preservation then?" Leon teased

**Whichever way he looked at it, he had never been in a worse fix.**

"You must be joking" Ron looked at his best friend with wide eyes, looking as though he was seeing a mad man

"never been in…Harry, I really doubt that could be worse than our first year with the stone" Hermione said, amused

"Or the Basilisk, and the giant spiders, and Fluffy, not to mention dear Norbert…" Leon smirked

"Ok! Ok! I get it, it's not the worse, but it felt like it!" Harry pouted, the friends laughed without noticing almost everyone else in the room looking freaked out and looking at the teenagers

** He was stranded, quite alone, in the dark Muggle world, with absolutely nowhere to go. **

"You do have somewhere to go to Harry" Lupin said softly

"I know that now" Harry smiled at him

Lily and James looked at each other, millions of questions running through their heads

**And the worst of it was, he had just done serious magic, which meant that he was almost certainly expelled from Hogwarts. **

"It was accidental though" Bill reasoned

**He had broken the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry so badly, he was surprised Ministry of Magic representatives weren't swooping down on him where he sat.**

**Harry shivered and looked up and down Magnolia Crescent.**

**What, was going to happen to him? Would he be arrested, or would he simply be outlawed from the wizarding world? He thought of Ron,****_ Leon,_**** and Hermione, and his heart sank even lower. Harry was sure that, criminal or not, ****_his friends_**** would want to help him now,**

"Of course we would!" they chimed in, smiling at Harry

** but ****_Ron and Hermione_**** were both abroad, and with Hedwig gone, he had no means of contacting them ****_or Leon (since Harry had no idea of where he lived he couldn't just go to his home)_****.**

"You have rotten luck mate" The Weasley twins chorused

"You think?"

**He didn't have any Muggle money, either. There was a little wizard gold in the money bag at the bottom of his trunk, but the rest of the fortune his parents had left him was stored in a vault at Gringotts Wizarding Bank in London. He'd never be able to drag his trunk all the way to London. Unless...**

"Uh-oh" Leon and his sisters muttered, looking amused

**He looked down at his wand, which he was still clutching in his hand. If he was already expelled (his heart was. now thumping painfully fast), a bit more magic couldn't hurt.**

"Oh Merlin, What are you planning Harry?" Zania grinned

** He had the Invisibility Cloak he had inherited from his father - what if he bewitched the trunk to make it feather-light, tied it to his broomstick, covered himself in the cloak, and flew to London?**

"Harry James Potter! That is a terrible idea! It's dangerous and reckless and this is all your fault James!" Lily glared at her boyfriend

"What? How is it my fault?" the boy answered

"Well he didn't get all his recklessness from me"

** Then he could get the rest of his money out of his vault and... begin his life as an outcast. **

"Well, he's a drama king like you Jamesy-boy" Sirius smirked

"Oy!" father and son yelled, glaring at him

**It was a horrible prospect, but he couldn't sit on this wall forever, or he'd find himself trying to explain to Muggle police why he was out in the dead of night with a trunkful of spellbooks and a broomstick.**

"That would be a fun thing to watch" The Weasley twins chuckled, looking at the boy fondly

**Harry opened his trunk again and pushed the contents aside, looking for the Invisibility Cloak - but before he had found it, he straightened up suddenly, looking around him once more.**

Everyone tensed up, wondering what had happened to cause such a reaction from Harry

**A funny prickling on the back of his neck had made Harry feel he was being watched, but the street appeared to be deserted, and no lights shone from any of the large square houses.**

"Always trust your senses" both Remuses said, looking at Harry, who nodded amused

**He bent over his trunk again, but almost immediately stood up once more, his hand clenched on his wand. He had sensed rather than heard it: **

Remus and Lupin nodded, the younger one frowned in concentration at the book, reading ahead, Sirius chuckled fondly and poked him, nodding towards the room, Remus blushed before clearing his throat and continuing with the story, not noticing Romulus' eye roll, James' and Lily's knowing stare, or Lupin's wistful glance towards their little group

**someone or something was standing in the narrow gap between the garage and the fence behind him. Harry squinted at the black alleyway. If only it would move, then he'd know whether it was just a stray cat or - something else.**

"Please just let it be a stray" Molly muttered under her breath, holding unto her husband's arm

**"Lumos," Harry muttered, and a light appeared at the end of his wand, almost dazzling him. He held it high over his head, and the pebble-dashed walls of number two suddenly sparkled; the garage door gleamed, and between them Harry saw, quite distinctly, the hulking outline of something very big, with wide, gleaming eyes.**

Everyone tensed up, except those who knew who it was, looking at the book. James and Lily held Harry, scared for their little boy, Remus had started to tighten his grip on the book so Romulus put a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm down his brother and Sirius put a hand on his leg, Remus took a deep breath and put a hand on top of Sirius', Adhara and Zania looked at each other and then at Leon, who nodded at them and mouthed 'it's snuffles' at them.

**Harry stepped backward. His legs hit his trunk and he tripped. His wand flew out of his hand as he flung out an arm to break his fall, and he landed, hard, in the gutter –**

Almost everyone snorted

"very graceful Harry" Zania chuckled

"Hey, I'd like to see you in that situation" Harry pouted

**There was a deafening BANG, and Harry threw up his hands to shield his eyes against a sudden blinding light –**

"Don't just stand there! Move!" Percy yelled, surprising Harry and making him blush, since he didn't think that Percy cared about him at all

**With a yell, he rolled back onto the pavement, just in time.**

There was a collective sigh of relief around the room

** A second later, a gigantic pair of wheels and headlights screeched to a halt exactly where Harry had just been lying.**

"Woo, the Knight Bus!" the three Blacks cheered

** They belonged, as Harry saw when he raised his head, to a triple-decker, violently purple bus, which had appeared out of thin air. Gold lettering over the windshield spelled The Knight Bus.**

"I don't understand how you can like that" Charlie and Leon said, looking at each other in surprise before Charile grinned and messed Leon's hair

**For a Split second, Harry wondered if he had been knocked silly by his fall. Then a conductor in a purple uniform leapt out of the bus and began to speak loudly to the night.**

**"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board) and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this eve -"**

**The conductor stopped abruptly. He had just caught sight of Harry, who was still sitting on the ground. Harry snatched up his wand again and scrambled to his feet. Close up, he saw that Stan Shunpike was only a few years older than he was, eighteen or nineteen at most, with large, protruding ears and quite a few pimples.**

"Well, isn't he a looker" Zania grimaced

"Bet he has a gigantic fan club" Adhara laughed

**"What were you doin' down there?" said Stan, dropping his professional manner.**

"What do you think?" Fred rolled his eyes

"He just fancied sitting there in the middle of the night

**"Fell over," said Harry.**

**"'Choo fall over for?" sniggered Stan.**

"It's not like he did it on purpose" Perce answered

**"I didn't do it on purpose," said Harry, annoyed. **

The Weasleys chuckled at that, and Percy's ears went slightly red at the tips

**One of the knees in his jeans was torn, and the hand he had thrown out to break his fall was bleeding.**

"Oh dear, you better make sure that doesn't get infected" Molly worried

"She's right, you better take care of that" James nodded looking down at his son seriously

** He suddenly remembered why he had fallen over and turned around quickly to stare at the alleyway between the garage and fence. The Knight Bus's headlamps were flooding it with light, and it was empty.**

**"'Choo lookin' at?" said Stan.**

"The bloke is not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, is he?" Sirius smirked

**"There was a big black thing," said Harry, pointing uncertainly into the gap. "Like a dog... but massive..."**

The Marauders looked uneasily at each other

**He looked a-round at Stan, whose mouth was slightly open. With a feeling of unease, Harry saw Stan's eyes move to the scar on Harry's forehead.**

Harry groaned "Every time!"

**"Woss that on your 'ead?" said Stan abruptly.**

**"Nothing," said Harry quickly, flattening his hair over his scar. If the Ministry of Magic was looking for him, he didn't want to make it too easy for them.**

**"Woss your name?" Stan persisted.**

"Oh, just leave the lad alone" Bill sighed

"That must be pretty annoying" Romulus looked at Harry with sympathy

"It is" The boy answered

**"Neville Longbottom," said Harry, saying the first name that came into his head. **

His three friends laughed "just wait until Neville hears this" Leon teased "mind you, next time you should use a muggle name, 'Longbottom' isn't really common"

"I'm really hoping there is no 'next time'" Lupin stared at his nephew

**"So - so this bus," he went on quickly, hoping to distract Stan, "did you say it goes anywhere?"**

**"Yep," said Stan proudly, "anywhere you like, long's it's on land. Can't do nuffink underwater. 'Ere," he said, looking suspicious again, ,You did flag us down, dincha? Stuck out your wand 'and, dincha?"**

**"Yes," said Harry quickly. "Listen, how much would it be to get to London?"**

**"Eleven Sickles," said Stan, "but for fifteen you get 'or chocolate, and for fifteen you get an 'ot water bottle an' a toofbrush in the color of your choice."**

"Don't get anything, specially not the hot chocolate" Remus told Harry seriously

"What? Moons, are you feeling alright? You are telling someone not to get chocolate" Sirius said, mockingly taking Remus' temperature

"Don't be such a prat, I've been on the Knight bus, the only thing you would get if you got the chocolate would be burned legs, and that's if you're lucky" Remus sulked

"Speaking from experience Moony-kins" Sirius grinned

"Could you please continue?" Molly glared at the boys, Sirius grinned at her and drew Remus' in a one armed hug, but before he could answer Remus cleared his throat once again and restarted the reading, blushing.

**Harry rummaged once more in his trunk, extracted his money bag, and shoved some gold into Stan's hand. He and Stan then lifted his trunk, with Hedwig's cage balanced on top, up the steps of the bus.**

**There were no seats; instead, half a dozen brass bedsteads stood beside the curtained windows. Candles were burning in brackets beside each bed, illuminating the wood-paneled walls. **

"That sounds interesting" Hermione mused

**A tiny wizard in a nightcap at the rear of the bus muttered, "Not now, thanks, I'm pickling some slugs" and rolled over in his sleep.**

"Lovely" Ginny said looking disgusted

**"You 'ave this one," Stan whispered, shoving Harry's trunk under the bed right behind the driver, who was sitting in an armchair in front of the steering wheel. "This is our driver, Ernie Prang. This ,is Neville Longbottom, Ern. "**

**Ernie Prang, an elderly wizard wearing very thick glasses, nodded to Harry, who nervously flattened his bangs again and sat down on his bed.**

"Hold on tight kiddo!" Bill grinned

**"Take 'er away, Ern," said Stan, sitting down in the armchair next to Ernie's.**

**There was another tremendous BANG, and the next moment Harry found himself flat on his bed, thrown backward by the speed of the Knight Bus. Pulling himself up, Harry stared out of the dark window and saw that they were now bowling along a completely different street. Stan was watching Harry's stunned face with great enjoyment.**

"It's probably really funny, seeing people get in for the first time" Zania whispered to Fred

**"This is where we was before you flagged us down," he said. "Where are we, Ern? Somewhere in Wales?"**

**"Ar," said Ernie.**

**"How come the Muggles don't hear the bus?" said Harry.**

**"Them!" said Stan contemptuously. "Don' listen properly, do they? Don' look properly either. Never notice nuffink, they don'."**

"That's a little harsh" Lily frowned "they use enchantments so obviously they don't see anything"

"He's rather rude" Hermione glared at the book

**"Best go wake up Madam Marsh, Stan," said Ern. "We'll be in Abergavenny in a minute."**

**Stan passed Harry's bed and disappeared up a narrow wooden staircase. Harry was still looking out of the window, feeling increasingly nervous. Ernie didn't seem to have mastered the use of a steering wheel. **

"I don't think any of the drivers of the Knight Bus have ever mastered it" Remus told him seriously

"I doubt it's on the job description" Sirius smiled down at him

"Hey! I bet it would be great to work as a Knight Bus driver" James grinned, Lily shook her head but refused to say anything and nodded at Remus to continue

**The Knight Bus kept mounting the pavement, but it didn't hit anything; lines of lampposts, mailboxes, and trash cans jumped out of its way as it approached and back into position once it had passed.**

"Like magic" George said, nodding seriously

**Stan came back downstairs, followed by a faintly green witch wrapped in a traveling cloak.**

**"'Ere you go, Madam Marsh," said Stan happily as Ern stamped on the brake and the beds slid a foot or so toward the front of the bus. Madam Marsh clamped a handkerchief to her mouth and tottered down the steps.**

"Poor woman" Leon muttered

** Stan threw her bag out after her and rammed the doors shut; there was another loud BANG, and they were thundering down a narrow country lane, trees leaping out of the way.**

**Harry wouldn't have been able to sleep even if he had been traveling on a bus that didn't keep banging loudly and jumping a hundred miles at a time. His stomach churned as he fell back to wondering what was going to happen to him, and whether the Dursleys had managed to get Aunt Marge off the ceiling yet.**

"I hope not" Ron whispers

**Stan had unfurled a copy of the Daily Prophet and was now reading with his tongue between his teeth. A large photograph of a sunken-faced man with long, matted hair blinked slowly at Harry from the front page. He looked strangely familiar.**

**"That man!" Harry said, forgetting his troubles for a moment. "He was on the Muggle news!"**

The Marauders paled

"Maybe…Maybe it is Regulus, or another of your relatives" Remus said softly before continuing

**Stanley turned to the front page and chuckled.**

**"Sirius Black," **

"WHAT?! But, but I…" Sirius was wide-eyed, looking at the book unbelievingly

"It must be a mistake" James said frowning

**he said, nodding. "'Course 'e was on the Muggle news, Neville, where you been?"**

**He gave a superior sort of chuckle at the blank look on Harry's face, removed the front page, and handed it to Harry.**

**"You oughta read the papers more, Neville."**

**Harry held the paper up to the candlelight and read:**

**BLACK STILL AT LARGE**

**Sirius Black, possibly the most infamous prisoner ever to be held in Azkaban fortress, is still eluding capture, the Ministry of Magic confirmed today.**

**"We are doing all we can to recapture Black," said the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, this morning, "and we beg the magical community to remain calm."**

**Fudge has been criticized by some members of the International Federation of Warlocks for informing the Muggle Prime Minister of the crisis.**

**"Well, really, I had to, don't you know," said an irritable Fudge. "Black is mad. He's a danger to anyone who crosses him, magic or Muggle. I have the Prime Minister's assurance that he will not breathe a word of Black's true identity to anyone. And let's face it-who'd believe him if he did?"**

**While Muggles have been told that Black is carrying a gun (a kind of metal wand that Muggles use to kill each other), the magical community lives in fear of a massacre like that of twelve years ago, when Black murdered thirteen people with a single curse.**

Nobody had dared speak while Remus read, the Marauders were pale, Lily kept shaking her head, eyes wide, unable to believe what she had heard

"No! That's not true! I would never follow Voldy-shorts! I wouldn't…I…" Sirius was shaking, Remus lowered the book and put one hand on Sirius' leg

"I'm sure it's a mistake, it can't be the truth" he comforted

"Yeah! We know you mate, and we know you would never join him" James reached out to place his hand on Sirius' shoulder, offering whatever comfort he could

"You say that now, but you don't know the whole story!" Molly glared at the boy, she hadn't said anything before, since she didn't want Adhara, Zania, or Harry to be upset, but she couldn't stop it anymore

"Neither do you Molly" Lupin spoke up "but everything will be explained, if only we keep reading"

Remus nodded and continued reading, sliding closer to his friend

**Harry looked into the shadowed eyes of Sirius Black, the only part of the sunken face that seemed alive. Harry had never met a vampire, but he had seen pictures of them in his Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, and Black, with his waxy white skin, looked just like one.**

"Great, so I'm a criminal and I look like a vampire, looking forward to the future" Sirius sulked

**"Scary-lookin' fing, inee?" said Stan, who had been watching Harry read.**

**"He murdered thirteen people?" said Harry, handing the page back to Stan, "with one curse?"**

**"Yep," said Stan, "in front of witnesses an' all. Broad daylight. Big trouble it caused, dinnit, Ern?"**

**"Ar," said Ern darkly.**

**Stan swiveled in his armchair, his hands on the back, the better to look at Harry.**

**"Black woz a big supporter of You-Know-'Oo," he said.**

**"What, Voldemort?" said Harry, without thinking.**

"Harry!" The twins, Leon, Ron and Hermione, groaned

"We'll need to work on that" Fred and George chuckled

**Even Stan's pimples went white; Ern jerked the steering wheel so hard that a whole farmhouse had to jump aside to avoid the bus.**

**"You outta your tree?" yelped Stan. "'Choo say 'is name for?"**

**"Sorry," said Harry hastily. "Sorry, I - I forgot -"**

"oh, don't apologize, they're being ridiculous" James rolled his eyes

**"Forgot!" said Stan weakly. "Blimey, my 'eart's goin' that fast ..."**

**"So - so Black was a supporter of You-Know-Who?" Harry prompted apologetically.**

"No, I'm not"

"We know Siri, we know" Remus calmed him

**"Yeah," said Stan, still rubbing his chest. "Yeah, that's right. Very close to You-Know-'Oo, they say. Anyway, when little 'Arry Potter got the better of You-Know-'Oo -"**

**Harry nervously flattened his bangs down again.**

**"- all You-Know-'Oo's supporters was tracked down, wasn't they, Ern? Most of 'em knew it was all over, wiv You-Know-'Oo gone, and they came quiet. But not Sirius Black. I 'eard he thought 'e'd be second-in-command once You-Know-'Oo 'ad taken over.**

"Oh come on! I'm not that stupid!" No one answered, those who didn't know the story were too scared of Black now that he looked angry, his friends thought it would be better to let him rant and those who knew the whole story looked at each other, wondering whether they should tell everyone or not

**"Anyway, they cornered Black in the middle of a street full of Muggles an' Black took out 'is wand and 'e blasted 'alf the street apart, an' a wizard got it, an' so did a dozen Muggles what got in the way. 'Orrible, eh? An' you know what Black did then?" Stan continued in a dramatic whisper.**

**"What?" said Harry.**

**"Laughed," said Stan. "Jus' stood there an' laughed. An' when reinforcements from the Ministry of Magic got there, I 'e went wiv em quiet as anyfink, still laughing 'is 'ead off. 'Cos 'e's mad, inee, Ern? Inee mad?"**

Sirus shut up then, for the first time feeling afraid of what was to come, he knew that reaction, and he really did sound mad in the future. What if it was true? What if he really did all those things? What if he became a murderer like the rest of his family? What if…he startled once he felt Remus taking one of his hands, as though he had heard his inner panic, Sirius calmed down slightly and continued to listen to his best friend reading

**"If he weren't when he went to Azkaban, he will be now," said Ern in his slow voice. "I'd blow meself up before I set foot in that place. Serves him right, mind you ... after what he did..."**

**"They 'ad a job coverin' it up, din' they, Ern?" Stan said. "'Ole street blown up an' all them Muggles dead. What was it they said ad 'appened, Ern?"**

**"Gas explosion," grunted Ernie.**

**"An' now 'e's out," said Stan, examining the newspaper picture of Black's gaunt face again. "Never been a breakout from Azkaban before, 'as there, Ern? Beats me 'ow 'e did it. Frightenin', eh? Mind, I don't fancy 'is chances against them Azkaban guards, eh, Ern?"**

**Ernie suddenly shivered.**

**"Talk about summat else, Stan, there's a good lad. Them Azkaban guards give me the collywobbles."**

"ditto" The Black twins whispered

**Stan put the paper away reluctantly, and Harry leaned against the window of the Knight Bus, feeling worse than ever. He couldn't help imagining what Stan might be telling his passengers in a few nights' time.**

**"'Ear about that 'Arry Potter? Blew up 'is aunt! We 'ad 'im 'ere on the Knight Bus, di'n't we, Ern? 'E was tryin' I to run for it..."**

"oh Harry!" Lily smiled amused

**He, Harry, had broken wizard law just like Sirius Black. **

"It's not really the same though" Sirius smiled slightly at his godson, who was blushing under the fondly exasperated stares of everyone in the room

**Was inflating Aunt Marge bad enough to land him in Azkaban?**

"No, it's not" Leon chuckled

** Harry didn't know anything about the wizard prison, though everyone he'd ever heard speak of it did so in the same fearful tone. Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper, had spent two months there only last year.**

"Hagrid? Why on earth would he have to go there?" Charlie looked surprised

"It'll be explained in the break" Teddy sighed

** Harry wouldn't soon forget the look of terror on Hagrid's face when he had been told where he was going, and Hagrid was one of the bravest people Harry knew.**

**The Knight Bus rolled through the darkness, scattering bushes and wastebaskets, telephone booths and trees, and Harry lay, restless and miserable, on his feather bed. **

"Such a drama queen Harry" Fred and George laughed

**After a while, Stan remembered that Harry had paid for hot chocolate,**

Remus shook his head sadly

** but poured it all over Harry's pillow when the bus moved abruptly from Anglesea to Aberdeen.**

** One by one, wizards and witches in dressing gowns and slippers descended from the upper floors to leave the bus. They all looked very pleased to go.**

"I wonder why" James snarked, hoping to get a reaction from Sirius, who just continued to stare at the book

**Finally, Harry was the only passenger left.**

**"Right then, Neville," said Stan, clapping his hands, where abouts in London?"**

**"Diagon Alley," said Harry.**

**"Righto," said Stan. "'Old tight, then."**

**BANG.**

**They were thundering along Charing Cross Road. Harry sat up and watched buildings and benches squeezing themselves out of the Knight Bus's way. The sky was getting a little lighter. **

"I really hope sleepless nights don't become a habit young man" Lily warned

**He would lie low for a couple of hours, go to Gringotts the moment it opened, then set off - where, he didn't know.**

**Ern slammed on the brakes and the Knight Bus skidded to a halt in front of a small and shabby- looking pub, the Leaky Cauldron, behind which lay the magical entrance to Diagon Alley.**

**"Thanks," Harry said to Ern.**

**He jumped down the steps and helped Stan lower his trunk and Hedwig's cage onto the pavement.**

"Well…it seems he likes you" James told his son fondly

**"Well," said Harry. "'Bye then!"**

**But Stan wasn't paying attention. Still standing in the doorway to the bus he was goggling at the shadowy entrance to the Leaky Cauldron. "There you are, Harry," said a voice.**

"Busted!" both sets of twins yelled

**Before Harry could turn, he felt a hand on his shoulder. At the same time, Stan shouted, "Blimey! Ern, come 'ere! Come 'ere I"**

**Harry looked up at the owner of the hand on his shoulder and felt a bucketful of ice cascade into his stomach - he had walked right into Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic himself.**

"Rotten luck kid" Romulus sighed

**Stan leapt onto the pavement beside them.**

**"What didja call Neville, Minister?" he said excitedly.**

**Fudge, a portly little man in a long, pinstriped cloak, looked cold and exhausted.**

**"Neville?" he repeated, frowning. "This is Harry Potter."**

**"I knew it!" Stan shouted gleefully. "Ern! Ern! Guess 'oo Neville is, Ern! 'E's 'Arry Potter! I can see 'is scar!"**

"Of course you knew" Ginny rolled her eyes

**"Yes," said Fudge testily, "well, I'm very glad the Knight Bus picked Harry up, but he and I need to step inside the Leaky Cauldron now..."**

**Fudge increased the pressure on Harry's shoulder, and Harry found himself being steered inside the pub. A stooping figure bearing a lantern appeared through the door behind the bar. It was Tom, the wizened, toothless landlord.**

**"You've got him, Minister!" said Tom. "Will you be wanting anything? Beer? Brandy?"**

**"Perhaps a pot of tea," said Fudge, who still hadn't let go of Harry.**

**There was a loud scraping and puffing from behind them, and Stan and Ern appeared, carrying Harry's trunk and Hedwig's cage and looking around excitedly.**

**"'Ow come you di'n't tell us 'oo you are, eh, Neville?" said Stan, beaming at Harry, while Ernie's owlish face peered interestedly over Stan's shoulder.**

"Why do you think?" Harry said amused, he found Stan to be quite funny right now, even if he was slightly annoying at the moment

**"And a private parlor, please, Tom," said Fudge pointedly.**

**`Bye," Harry said miserably to Stan and Ern as Tom beckoned Fudge toward the passage that led from the bar.**

**"'Bye, Neville!" called Stan.**

"Why does he keep calling you Neville?" Percy asked baffled "he knows your name!"

"I don't know, maybe he thought it was funny?" Harry shrugged

**Fudge marched Harry along the narrow passage after Tom's lantern, and then into a small parlor. Tom clicked his fingers, a fire burst into life in the grate, and he bowed himself out of the room.**

**"Sit down, Harry," said Fudge, indicating a chair by the fire.**

**Harry sat down, feeling goose bumps rising up his arms despite the glow of the fire. Fudge took off his pinstriped cloak and tossed it aside, then hitched up the trousers of his bottle-green suit and sat down opposite Harry.**

**"I am Cornelius Fudge, Harry. The Minister of Magic."**

**Harry already knew this, of course; he had seen Fudge once before, but as he had been wearing his father's Invisibility Cloak at the time, Fudge wasn't to know that.**

"I'm really looking forward to these explanations" Lily glowered at her son

"you have an invisibility cloak?" Fred and George asked, eyes shining

**Tom the innkeeper reappeared, wearing an apron over his nightshirt and bearing a tray of tea and crumpets. He placed the tray on a table between Fudge and Harry and left the parlor, closing the door behind him.**

**"Well, Harry," said Fudge, pouring out tea, "you've had us all in a right flap, I don't mind telling you. Running away from your aunt and uncle's house like that! I'd started to think... but you're safe, and that's what matters."**

**Fudge buttered himself a crumpet and pushed the plate toward Harry.**

**"Eat, Harry, you look dead on your feet. Now then... You will be pleased to hear that we have dealt with the unfortunate blowing-up of Miss Marjorie Dursley. Two members of the Accidental Magic Reversal Department were dispatched to Privet Drive a few hours ago. Miss Dursley has been punctured and her memory has been modified. She has no recollection of the incident at all. So that's that, and no harm done."**

**Fudge smiled at Harry over the rim of his teacup, rather like an uncle surveying a favorite nephew. Harry, who couldn't believe his ears, opened his mouth to speak, couldn't think of anything to say, and closed it again.**

"Well…I guess he seems like a nice person, the new minister" James said

**"Ah, you're worrying about the reaction of your aunt and uncle?" said Fudge. "Well, I won't deny that they are extremely angry, Harry, but they are prepared to take you back next summer as long as you stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas and Easter holidays."**

**Harry unstuck his throat.**

**"I always stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas and Easter holidays," he said, "and I don't ever want to go back to Privet Drive."**

"You won't, we'll find a way" Ron said

"You can stay with us, no problem" Leon offered

**"Now, now, I'm sure you'll feel differently once you've calmed down," said Fudge in a worried tone. "They are your family, after all, and I'm sure you are fond of each other - er - very deep down."**

"very, very, veeeeeryyy, deep down" Adhara said

"Deeper than hell maybe" Fred rolled his eyes

"nah, the only thing the Dursleys have deep inside is food…and hate…and a boring core I guess" Zania said

**It didn't occur to Harry to put Fudge right. He was still waiting to hear what was going to happen to him now.**

**"So all that remains," said Fudge, now buttering himself a second crumpet, "is to decide where you're going to spend the last two weeks of your vacation. I suggest you take a room here at the Leaky Cauldron and"**

**"Hang on," blurted Harry. "What about my punishment?"**

"Mate…are you seriously asking for punishment?" George looked

"That is your fault" James told Lily, who just rolled her eyes

**Fudge blinked. "Punishment?"**

**"I broke the law!" Harry said. "The Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry!"**

**"Oh, my dear boy, we're not going to punish you for a little thing like that!" cried Fudge, waving his crumpet impatiently. "It was an accident! We don't send people to Azkaban just for blowing up their aunts!"**

**But this didn't tally at all with Harry's past dealings with the Ministry of Magic.**

**"Last year, I got an official warning just because a house-elf smashed a pudding in my uncle's house!" he told Fudge, frowning. "The Ministry of Magic said I'd be expelled from Hogwarts if there was any more magic there!"**

"House-elf?" Romulus asked

"We'll explain later" Remmy grinned

**Unless Harry's eyes were deceiving him, Fudge was suddenly looking awkward.**

**"Circumstances change, Harry... We have to take into account... in the present climate... Surely you don't want to be expelled?"**

"Oh…it's because of me, isn't it?" Sirius asked, looking defeated

**"Of course I don't," said Harry.**

**"Well then, what's all the fuss about?" laughed Fudge. "Now, have a crumpet, Harry, while I go and see if Tom's got a room for you."**

"Not that you're going to use it for long" Leon grinned

**Fudge strode out of the parlor and Harry stared after him. There was something extremely odd going on. Why had Fudge been waiting for him at the Leaky Cauldron, if not to punish him for what he'd done? And now Harry came to think of it, surely it wasn't usual for the Minister of Magic himself to get involved in matters of underage magic?**

"It's definitely not" Lupin answered, frowning

**Fudge came back, accompanied by Tom the innkeeper.**

**"Room eleven's free, Harry," said Fudge. "I think you'll be very comfortable just one thing, and I'm sure you'll understand... I don't want you wandering off into Muggle London, all right? Keep to Diagon Alley. And you're to be back here before dark each night. Sure you'll understand. Tom will be keeping an eye on you for me."**

**"Okay," said Harry slowly, "but why?"**

**"Don't want to lose you again, do we?" said Fudge with a hearty laugh. "No, no... best we know where you are... I mean..."**

"He's not even subtle" Bill snickered

**Fudge cleared his throat loudly and picked up his pinstriped cloak.**

**"Well, I'll be off, plenty to do, you know...**

**"Have you had any luck with Black yet?" Harry asked.**

**Fudge's finger slipped on the silver fastenings of his cloak.**

"Definitely not subtle" Charlie agreed

**"What's that? Oh, you've heard - well, no, not yet, but it's only a matter of time. The Azkaban guards have never yet failed... and they are angrier than I've ever seen them."**

**Fudge shuddered slightly.**

**"So, I'll say good-bye."**

**He held out his hand and Harry, shaking it, had a sudden idea.**

"uh-oh" Ron grimaced "What are you planning mate?"

**"Er - Minister? Can I ask you something?"**

**"Certainly," said Fudge with a smile.**

**"Well, third years at Hogwarts are allowed to visit Hogsmeade, but my aunt and uncle didn't sign the permission form. D'you think you could -?"**

**Fudge was looking uncomfortable.**

**"Ah," he said. "No, no, I'm very sorry, Harry, but as I'm not your parent or guardian -"**

**"But you I re the Minister of Magic," said Harry eagerly. "If you gave me permission**

**"No, I'm sorry, Harry, but rules are rules," said Fudge flatly.**

"He just broke a rule though" Leon remarked

**'Perhaps You'll be able to visit Hogsmeade next year. In fact, I think it's best if you don't... yes... well, I'll be off Enjoy your stay, Harry."**

**And with a last smile and shake of Harry's hand, Fudge left the room. Tom now moved forward, beaming at Harry.**

**"If you'll follow me, Mr. Potter," he said, "I've already taken your things up..."**

**Harry followed Tom up a handsome wooden staircase to a door with a brass number eleven on it, which Tom unlocked and opened for him.**

**Inside was a very comfortable-looking bed, some highly polished oak furniture, a cheerfully crackling fire and, perched on top of the wardrobe -**

**"Hedwig!" Harry gasped.**

**The snowy owl clicked her beak and fluttered down onto Harry's arm.**

**"Very smart owl you've got there, chuckled Tom. "Arrived about five minutes after you did. **

"She's amazing" Harry smiled fondly, wishing Hedwig was there

**If there's anything you need, Mr. Potter, don't hesitate to ask."**

**He gave another bow and left.**

**Harry sat on his bed for a long time, absentmindedly stroking Hedwig. The sky outside the window was changing rapidly from deep, velvety blue to cold, steely gray and then, slowly, to pink shot with gold. Harry could hardly believe that he'd left Privet Drive only a few hours ago, that he wasn't expelled, and that he was now facing two completely Dursley-free weeks.**

**"It's been a very weird night, Hedwig," he yawned.**

**And without even removing his glasses, he slumped back onto his pillows and fell asleep.**

"That's all" Remus sighed and closed the book

"Alright, now would be a good time to take the break" Teddy chimed in, standing up "So…I'll go for some snacks and food while you…deal with the questions"

"I'll help" Remmy stated

"No, its ok, you stay" Teddy glared at his friend, who sat back down, looking dejected

"I have one question" Lily said "and I believe it's best to start here…what exactly happened in your last two years?"

"…Well that's a long story" Harry muttered, looking at the floor

"Don't worry, we have time" Remmy said, ignoring the glare that Harry sent him

"Alright, well, I'll start on our first year…"

* * *

**Hey guys! IMPORTANT news here!**

From now on the updates will be once every two weeks, since I already started school, and I'm slightly busy, sometimes they might come in early and smetimes they might come in late but I'll do my best!

**Pairings! **so far, I'm still having trouble deciding, but at least I made my mind up on some of them so here it goes

Het: Lily/James, Ron/Hermione,

OC Pairings: OC/Fred, OC/George, OC/Charlie

Possible/suggested pairings: Draco/Harry, Percy/Harry, Remus/Sirius, Remus/Tonks, Remus/Snape (this are pairing that people have suggested either in rl or here on ff, if you like either of this tell me, if they get a lot of votes they might be on the story)

so tell me what you think! subscribes and reviews help me ignore school and write more, don't forget it!


	5. Chapter 5 Past, Present, and Future

"…Well that's a long story" Harry muttered, looking at the floor

"Don't worry, we have time" Remmy said, ignoring the glare that Harry sent him

"Alright, well, I'll start on our first year…"

Harry continued, telling them all about his first and second year without really giving them a chance to interrupt, since he wanted to get it over with quickly. His friends helped every once in a while, giving little stories or facts, or even their own point of view of the events. They left a lot of what happened out though, since they didn't particularly fancy getting in trouble.

His parents looked thrilled while he told them about his sorting and meeting Leon and Ron, his father looking fondly at his own friends, forgetting for the moment about the future. Once he told them about getting into the Quidditch team in his first year his father yelled and did a little dance of happiness, along with Sirius, singing about how proud he was. Harry smiled brightly and continued telling them about his adventures, however he soon found that he couldn't just let the bad stuff out, he got it over with quickly, telling them of Norbert—or Norberta, according to Charlie—and Fluffy, thankfully Leon seemed happy to tell them about them before telling Harry to continue. He told them about the stone, about trying to find Flamel and finally about his encounter with Quirrell, he said all of this quickly and trying to avoid all kind of interruptions, once he finished telling them about his first year he quickly started on his second, wanting to get it over with quickly.

He started with him going to the Burrow, not wanting to go on talking about his relatives, and continued on from there, he told them all about being a parseltongue and waited for their reaction, he was pleasantly surprised once the only reaction from both his mother and father reacted with confusion—not knowing exactly how it was possible for Harry to be a parseltongue—instead of disgust of disappointment like he had expacted. His friends talked more this time around, Leon talked excitingly about Aragog and the acromantulas and the Basilisk, bemoaning the fact that he would have liked to see the body at least (Harry chanced a look at Professor Lupin who seemed both amused and worried sick at seeing his nephew talking like that about such dangerous creatures), Ron told them about how terrible Lockhart had been and about Malfoy getting in the Quidditch team by bribing the team, he also told them about the House Elf that had tried to help Harry by trying to kill him, and Hermione told them about how they began investigating about the creature, making the polyjuice potion, and finding the diary.

Harry finished by telling them how he saved Ginny with the help from Fawkes and destroying the diary of Tom Riddle AKA Voldemort. His parents looked about ready to faint, and once Harry looked around he saw that everyone (except his friends) looked pale.

"You did all that" Lily whispered "When you were only a child, heck you still are a child"

"I'll be 14 in a few weeks" Harry protested

"Still so young…I can't believe it" James murmured, laying a comforting hand in Lily's shoulder, drawing her close

"How come…how come no one knew? Or noticed just how much trouble you four got into?" Molly asked "I mean…surely the twins, Percy…"

"We were very careful ma'am" Leon said "we always made sure that no one was near"

"Why didn't you get anyone to help you…" Sirius whispered

"Can we please not talk about that? We did what we thought was right at the moment" Harry said shyly "And while I would have liked to do things differently, or that things hadn't gone the way they did…I don't regret it"

"I'm with the kid, let's get on with other things shall we? I have questions" Romulus said "like for example…Leon, are you my son? Or are you Remus'?"

"ehm…yours" Leon answered, looking at his father

"Great! I was starting to wonder whether Lis and I would be able to have children" Romulus smiled

"Oh, you're asking questions now? Great, we bring you food" Remmy smiled at everyone as he and Teddy lowered some plates on a table that they had transfigured and, slowly, they levitated it towards the center

"Yeah, speaking of questions…" Sirius said, suddenly somber "about me…am I…did I really do all that? Killed that many people…"

Remmy and Teddy looked at each other before turning to look at Lupin, with a shake from Teddy's hair Lupin sighed

"I can't tell you everything, since I'm sure that the book will take care of that, what I can tell you is…don't believe in everything you read, looks can be deceiving" Teddy said

"So I didn't…I'm not mad?" Sirius said hopefully

"You are not guilty" Zania said looking at the younger version of her father

"Zania! What are you…" Molly started, only to be interrupted by her sons

"No mom, she's telling…" Fred started

"…the truth, it wasn't him" George continued

"Everything else will be explained in the book" Teddy said quietly "Is that all?"

"I have one question for you" Lupin said, looking at both of the boys form the future "Do your parents know what you're doing? It is after all a very dangerous thing to do…messing with time"

"No, they do not…Remmy's mother is aware" Teddy started, looking at the floor "But…well, you'll see on the books I'm sure"

"Your mother knows and she approved?" Molly looked ready to faint

"Not really, but she knows that she couldn't stop us" Remmy shrugs

"You must understand that it wasn't our choice as much as it was…well, we were chosen" Teddy explained "I'm not sure how much we can tell you, but this much can't hurt: we were chosen because the people in charge of this project knew us, and knew that we are trustworthy"

"Not to mention that we are young and easygoing, which makes us most likely to gain your trust than, say, an old man that looks like he could curse you to oblivion, or a young man with scars all over his body that looks like he would kill you if you so much as look at him the wrong way"

"As I said…trustworthy" Teddy glared at his friend, looking ready to kick him "Not to mention that it would be easier if they didn't send someone you already knew"

"Easier for whom?" Bill asked

"Everyone involved" Teddy said quickly, without missing a beat

"How about we eat now?" Remmy said "I'm sure we're all hungry, and afterwards we can read another chapter before we retire to sleep"

"Speaking of…where will we be sleeping?" Remus asked

"Oh! Good thing you're asking now" Remmys grinned and raised his wand before clearing his throat and waving it at the walls.

Harry looked wide-eyed as six door appeared, each with a different color and drawing on the top

"Right, let me explain then" Teddy smiled and stood up, he signaled the first door on the right "The red door will be for the girls. A-ehm…Miss Granger, Miss Weasley, the Black twins, and Mrs. Potter. The next door, the yellow…"

"Golden! It's supposed to be gold" Remmy complained "It's supposed to be the Gryffindor colors!"

"Fine, the GOLDEN door, is the one for the boys, the inside is bigger than for the girls for obvious reasons, and there are supposed to be two rooms inside, so you can decide who you sleep with" Teddy explained and then turned to the adults "The orange room is for you, we thought you might be more comfortable if you don't have to bunk with the kids, Mr. Romulus you can choose whether you want to stay in this room or the ye…gold one"

"I'll stay in the golden, if it's not much trouble, I'm still young!" Romulus grinned

"Alright, well, the green door is our room, so if you need anything that's where you can find Remmy or myself" Teddy said and the pointed to the final purple door "And that's the bathroom, inside there are four other doors, one with the men's shower, other the women's shower, and the other two are toilettes for both women and men, we thought it better if there's more than just one, so there should be…three or four"

"And there is of course the blue room, where we have a kitchen and a table, though I suppose that table will only be used for breakfast before we start reading" Remmy smiled at his friend

"Now that we are done, I suggest we eat something, then Sirius can read the next chapter before we go to bed" Remmy smiled and pointed to the table that was now full of food, everyone nodded and started eating; all around the table people started talking, the Marauders quickly made friends with the Weasley and Black twins, much to everyone's displeasure.

Leon and Charlie had struck up a weird sort of friendship, bonding over their mutual love for all kind of creatures and animals (the more dangerous they were the better) and as a result they were being watched very closely by Mrs. Weasley and Professor Lupin, both of them looking resigned at the fact that their sons were mad enough to love such dangerous things.

"And how close can you get to a dragon?" Harry heard Leon asked, the one time he had gone to re-fill his plate near their place

"It depends really, sometimes when they're nesting you have to stay a safe distance away, but other times you get to be almost below them, there was this one time when we had to calm a nesting mother, because one of her eggs had hatched but the baby died short after, the mother was coleric and we had to go and take the remaining eggs before she stepped on them" Charlie explained showing his arm to a wide-eyed Leon, where he had a gigantic scar that went from his wrist to his elbow, though Harry was sure that it continued to his shoulder "That's where I got this pretty little thing"

Hermione, Lily, and Ginny were talking to each other and giggling every two minutes, every once in a while Harry felt eyes on him, but after seeing them eyeing just about everyone else, he decided not to care, and he wasn't eager to know what they were talking about.

Mr. Weasley and Romulus were talking animatedly in a corner, Romulus seemed to be explaining to an eager Mr. Weasley about the Muggle world, and Mr. Weasley in turn explained everything he could about the Wizarding world

"Wait...so you've never heard of a computer? or...what about a TV? surely wizards have TVs!" Romulus was saying, equal times surprised and amused

"Oh, no, I've never heard of it! Does it run on elktricity?" Mr. Weasley asked, very interested "And what does it do?"

"Well, it shows us the news, or some shows, sometimes even sports, though I am not so fond of them, and there's music as well" Romulus smiled

"Oh, so it's like a radio?"

"Ehm...well sort of, but it shows images, instead of just sound" Romulus laughed and then asked "Is it true that your bank is run by goblins? what are they like? And do you really wear those dresses (Sorry, robes) all day? why not just use trousers?"

Harry decided to leave that conversation alone. (though he had to admit that it was funny, seeing two grown men talking and gushing about each other's world) and finally settled between Percy and Ron, who where talking with Bill, Teddy, and Remmy.

"So you really know all of us?" Ron asked leaning towards the boys from the future

"We do, but as we said before, we can't tell you anything" Teddy smiled

"Not even your full names?" Bill asked curiously

"That would tell you way too much about us, and about your future as well" Remmys grinned

"But you're already giving away the fact that you know us, and that somehow you're important to us, even if you won't tell us your name" Percy pointed out, after moving slightly to the left, giving Harry space to sit

"Not really, I mean, we are saying that we know you, but that doesn't mean you know us, and just because we might be important in the future doesn't mean we are now" Teddy reasoned "We could simply work for someone important to you, or be the children of someone who _become _important to you later on"

"So you really won't say anything?" Ron looked dissapointed

"Sorry, we really can't" Teddy smiled reassuringly "We would if we weren't under strict rules to keep our mouths shut"

"Another reason we were chosen" Remmy grinned "We're used to keeping secrets...well, I am anyway, believe it or not"

"Oh you might be good at keeping quiet, but you also have a motormouth" Teddy glared

"You still mad the rascals about you and Vicky?" Remmy grinned

"Damn right I am, they keep teasing me" Teddy glared even harder at his friends

"Sorry, but you said you were used to keeping secrets?" Percy asked "How come?"

"Oh, well, I used to be quite a prankster, for us there's a need for secrecy" Remmy grinned from ear to ear

"I doubt you were chosen because of that though" Harry frowned, unable to picture anyone sending a boy to the past merely because he was a prankster

"Well, no, I wasn't. I was chosen because of a great number of factors, one that helped in the decision was my job, since it requires secrecy, I was also one of the few with the most promise for the future" Remmy smiled softly this time

"You're an unspeakable aren't you?" Percy asked, impressed "That's why you wear the cloak"

"Not yet, but in a few years maybe" Remmy answered "At the moment I'm only an intern, still a student. But yeah, that's why I wear the cloak"

Harry wondered what an 'unspeakable' was, but didn't dare ask, he assumed it must be a very respectable job, since Ron looked awed and Percy looked at Remmy with a new kind of respect, Harry tried not to think about it and resolved to ask Ron later on.

Once everyone had finished eating—except Ron and Sirius, who continued long after everyone had finished—everyone sat back down where they were before. Teddy took the book out from his bag, where he had left it before going to search for the food. He stood and gave the book to Sirius, who nodded thanks at him, and then went to sit down in his previous place.

Sirius cleared his throat and started reading.

* * *

I AM SO SORRY! it's been almost a month since I last uploaded, I'm really sorry! but I had a lot of projects this past few weeks, and my computer hasn't been helping (do you know how many times this chapter has been written? 3, my stupid laptop deleted it 2 times, 2!

but here it is now, and I know it's not great, but I wanted it done for today, I know it's not the weekend anymore, but I rather upload it now than wait for the weekend. I hope you liked it and I'll try to have the next one ready this week

**PAIRINGS!**

Ok, I've decided on Sirius/Remus, I just love them so much, on the other hand what would you people think of Charlie/Leon? obviously if I go with this option it be a crush on Leon's part for a while, and nothing would really happen until...late book 4? book 5? maybe later, but tell me what you think, I'm hesitating on that one.

HARRY PAIRINGS!

Harry/Luna, Harry/Percy, Harry/Draco, Harry/Tonks

Personally I have headcannons for all of this parings, (and I'm at the moment inclining towards Harry/Percy and Harry/Tonks) so tell me what you think and help me decide! Review and tell me in your comment which one you like the most. In Chapter...let's say Chapter 7, by chapter 7 I will have Harry's partner and announce it, you can vote for more than one pairing, and suggest other if you want, but only one vote per chapter (for example, you can vote for H/P and H/L in chapter 5, but you can't vote for them twice in the same chapter)

That's all! I hope you enjoyed it and please review! I'll try to have the next chapter by sunday!


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